Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 4-7. This eye-catching book features buildings disguised in other forms, from 65-foot-tall Lucy the Margate Elephant, a National Historic Landmark, to the Longaberger headquarters, a seven-story replica of a basket made by the company, to the original White Castle hamburger outlet, a tiny building with turreted and crenellated walls. The many illustrations include reproductions of period photographs, prints, and postcards as well as more recent photos of the sites. Though the gee-whiz appeal of the illustrations generally exceeds the interest level of the text and captions, readers looking for more information about this unusual subject will find the book a good starting place. Arbogast notes that she was unable to find any other books for children on the subject, but she appends a selected bibliography of adult materials, a list of brochures, and addresses of relevant Web sites. On the endpapers, a U.S. map indicates the locations of the 24 buildings mentioned in the text. Recommended for larger collections. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-An entertaining look at examples of mimetic architecture. Most of the buildings were constructed in the U.S. between 1910 and 1950, when the national network of two-lane highways made tourism by car popular. One chapter is devoted to gas stations shaped like a teepee, a teapot, a pagoda, etc. Other sections look at lodgings (teepees again, windmills, a pueblo) and restaurants (a milk bottle, a watermelon, a dog, etc.). Lucy, the 65-foot-tall elephant in Margate, NJ, and the 20-foot-tall Big Duck, located on Long Island, NY, each receive individual treatment. Additional chapters cover entertainment complexes (such as South Dakota's Corn Palace and several storybook theme parks) and office buildings (like the basket-shaped Longaberger Company headquarters). The full-color photos are bright and striking, and vintage pictures of the structures as they were originally built and of those no longer standing are also included. The text is written with just a touch of nostalgia, making the book evocative of an earlier era when travelers in automobiles took their time meandering around the country. Occasionally, the author states the obvious, but being humorously obvious is really the point of mimetic architecture, after all. The index adds usefulness for geography and history reports, but this is primarily a fun browsing title that reveals the vitality and spirit of inventive architecture.-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This quick survey of mimetic architecture--buildings designed to resemble objects--introduces a teapot-shaped gas station, a restaurant inside a giant milk bottle, and an office building that looks like a picnic basket. The appealing subject matter is captured in average-quality color photos and accompanied by a brief text that explains the history of this unique brand of utilitarian roadside art. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Architecture at its most vernacular, the dozens of oversized concrete wigwams, kettles, animals, and food-related items that pack this survey of American roadside attractions make irresistible eye candy. As the endpaper maps show, Arbogast ranges from coast to coast, opening with Lucy, the Margate, NJ, elephant still in use after almost 125 years, closing with Sweet Willy, a 30-foot-high Idaho beagle completed just last year. In between, she profiles an entire office building shaped like a picnic basket, Long Island's renowned Big Duck, South Dakota's Corn Palace, plus arrays of hot dog and fried-chicken stands, quirky motels, and gas stations. The author supplies statistics and background notes for most of her examples, describes how several were (or were not) saved from demolition, and closes with a multimedia resource list. The various Disney enterprises and their ilk don't make these pages--but that just points up the endearingly rough-hewn charm of what does. (Nonfiction. 10-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
