Title: Wild Buildings and Bridges
Author: Etta Kaner and Carl Wiens
Major Themes: Architecture, Bridges, Nature, Science
Synopsis: With colorful illustrations, many ways in which nature has inspired architecture are shown.
For the past eight or nine months, I have been reading something science-related to the children every morning, along with a Bible story, a devotional, and our history lesson. We’ve just read a couple of pages of whatever book it was, but we finished the ones I had a couple of weeks ago. I remembered, then, that a digital copy of Wild Buildings and Bridges was in my computer, and thought my boys might enjoy it.
This full-color book shows examples of many architectural features that have been inspired by things in nature. Water-purifying systems, paint that lets water roll right off, and a system to grow plants in a desert using fog kick off this fascinating book. After this, we are treated to a discussion of how cacti have inspired the shape of buildings, and how a particular type of grass helped an architect design an earthquake-proof bridge! This is just the beginning; there are many more examples as you read on.
We really enjoyed reading and looking at pictures of ways in which God’s creation has inspired human creativity, and ways in which people have solved problems by studying the natural world around them. My boys were a little bit provoked at the book, though, as the authors did not give glory to God. When the book would say something about how nature had it first, they would yell, “God!” Just keep in mind that this is a secular book, and use it to glorify the Creator!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Hardcover
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