I love the idea behind this book, as well as the illustrations and the information, but there is too much text to engage the audience thatbit is aimed at. The text is more for older children 3rd-5th grade, but I don’t think that the illustrations will be engaging enough for them.

This book explains how architects have been inspired by nature. As a result, the buildings they design are in harmony with the landscape and incorporate some of nature’s most effective creations—trees, cactuses, plants, animal bodies, and animal homes. Architects such as Frank Ghery and Frank Lloyd Wright are featured, and various challenges related to architecture are offered for readers to try out. This is a well-focused, clearly written and illustrated look at architecture inspired by nature.

Wild Buildings and Bridges is geared towards informing children how architecture can be inspired by nature. The book expounds how canyons, plants, animals, patterns, and termite towers have helped solve design questions.

There are several accessible, hands-on activities to reinforce the lessons in this book. For instance, in a way to demonstrate how the hexagon shape -- used by bees -- can meet design needs, they include several shapes with the same area and children are instructed to use a pipe cleaner to measure the distance around to demonstrate how the hexagon has the smallest perimeter. There are other lessons like collecting condensation and experiencing the strength a truss bridge provides.

The illustrations of specific buildings and their inspirations are helpful for students who benefit from visual learning as they're introduced to the Greek work biomimetic - "imitating life" to explain how nature can inspire design.

My daughter is nearly eight years old, and I can see her gravitating to this book and then reciting facts to me as she also begs to conduct every hands-on activity. It is an informative text, and parents could have interest in it as well, if read together.

I was provided a digital advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit I only skimmed this book. I had a review copy via #NetGalley, and I found it difficult to read on a screen. In a print format, I would love to sit down and read this with my kids. The topic is interesting, as are the different structures discussed in the book.
I think this will appeal to children interested in architecture as well as science. The suggested experiments look really fun.

This book is both lovely and informative. The illustrations will surely draw in readers, and the text is broken up with text boxes, labels, and diagrams. Different architects are featured throughout the book. Another nice touch are the activities scattered throughout the book that readers can try for themselves.

This book will likely appeal to children who are interested in either architecture and nature, and help them see connections they likely wouldn't have known about or noticed before. Teachers and parents will surely appreciate the obvious STEM connections and learning opportunities presented by the book.

Overall, an appealing book that I look forward to purchasing for our library.

Wild Buildings and Bridges is a wonderful basic introduction to architecture and engineering concepts and how they can be inspired by the natural world. It provides brief overviews of challenges architects may face and shows how they utilize solutions that the plants and animals around us have used to overcome the same challenges. There are introductions to specific architects, as well as a few hands on projects to help demonstrate the ideas shown in the text. My one and only complaint is that I wish there had been a few more (perhaps more advanced) hands on projects. But overall this is a terrific resource for anyone wanting to introduce children to these concepts. As a homeschooling parent, I could see an entire class being taught using this as the textbook. It'd be great for those looking for something just a little different in their STEM lessons. I highly recommend it!

This is a book that looks at how nature has informed certain designs. For instance, how technology may mimic the nature flow of a river to keep man-made water reserves clean, or how a beetle that can create its own water inspired the design of a greenhouse.

Finding good books for STEM/STEAM lessons is difficult, finding great books is next to impossible especially once you look for books targeting upper primary grades (5-7) and junior high school (8-9). Based on that this book is really a must have on the teacher's shelf and in the classroom.

Firstly, the layout. I love that it combines illustrations of the creature or natural concept and then alongside or nearby shows how architects used that concept to inform a specific design as shown in a photograph. That is such an important element in assisting children (and adults) in making connections.

The little experiements are great for children to practise a concept to see exactly the why and the how behind the thinking - because let's face it, we can read all we like but it sticks in our brains much more if we do as well. The instructions are provided with written text and accompanying illustrations making them easy to follow and replicate.

Overall, this is a great cross-curricular resource to have as a teacher resource to help inform your planning but also as a student resource.