ABOUT BUILDING STORIES
Explore the past and learn how to read a building! There’s a wonderful story to discover about every building in Building Stories—a rich collection of photographs and facts, all told in rhyming verse to delight young readers. Captivating and curious photographs of a pencil, musical instruments, a nurse, and a big wheel with wings will engage children to want to learn more about the characters, plots and settings of these amazing buildings and will pique their interest to investigate the history of the buildings all around them. Purchase the book
THE INSIDE STORY Beloved Children’s Author Gives Advice to Parents of Budding Architects NBM Online: What advice do you have for the young readers who enjoy your books? Isabel Hill: I am so excited about these books and want them to be the catalyst for walking around one’s own neighborhood and observing all the interesting architecture that surrounds us. My advice would be to go out, walk the streets, take the books as your guides, but find your own architectural treasures. Photograph them, draw them, write about them, and share what you find with other children and adults. click here to read the full interview with the National Building Museum
Brooklyn Author Debuts Second Book on NYC Architecture
While Urban Animals teaches kids basic architectural terms by highlighting quirky details on city buildings, Building Stories presents the analogy that buildings: They each have a story to tell. click here to read the full article in Brooklyn Parent
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
New York photographer Isabel Hill’s Building Stories captures fanciful details of city architecture that open kids’ eyes to the often unseen marvels of their hometown. Each spread has a close-up—a fire hydrant, several baboons—on the left, and a wider shot on the right that puts the image into context. Charming couplets make the connection between the detail and the building’s purpose crystal clear: “Lions, monkeys and elephants, to name a few / Of the characters on these buildings of a famous zoo.” -Time Out Kids NY
“Building Stories is a book that arrives only once in a while, a buildings had so much to say? All we had to do was listen. Isabel Hill absolutely speaks the mysterious language of buildings.” -V.S., New York Journal of Books
“Every building tells a story, one that can be uncovered simply by taking the time to look closely. Isabel Hill teaches children to notice and value these stories, instilling an appreciation for the places that define us as a nation and as people.” -Stephanie Meeks, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
“Building Stories is a great introduction to architecture. Isabel Hill inspires young readers to look really closely and find meaning in a building’s details. This whimsical book brings buildings to life!” -Joanne Seelig, Family Programs Manager, National Building Museum
Building Stories by Isabel Hill, is a beautiful and educational book that not only captures the interest of children but also adults. The book displays images and captions that help children to start to notice and understand the symbolic meaning and value of art that is displayed on public buildings. -makobi scribe
I liked helping my son predict what he thought each building had been used for, and he still liked the rhymes. It opened up the opportunity to talk about the past. -Rebecca reads
UPCOMING EVENTS Exhibition at Brooklyn Public Library
December 8, 2011 -February 18, 2012
Reception December 8 at Dweck Center Lobby from 6-8 pm, Brooklyn Public
Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn.
Building Stories
Explore the past and learn how to read a building! There’s a wonderful story to discover about every building in Building Stories—a rich collection of photographs and facts, all told in rhyming verse to delight young readers. Captivating and curious photographs of a pencil, musical instruments, a nurse, and a big wheel with wings will engage children to want to learn more about the characters, plots and settings of these amazing buildings and will pique their interest to investigate the history of the buildings all around them.
Purchase the book
THE INSIDE STORY
Beloved Children’s Author Gives Advice to Parents of Budding Architects
NBM Online: What advice do you have for the young readers who enjoy your books?
Isabel Hill: I am so excited about these books and want them to be the catalyst for walking around one’s own neighborhood and observing all the interesting architecture that surrounds us. My advice would be to go out, walk the streets, take the books as your guides, but find your own architectural treasures. Photograph them, draw them, write about them, and share what you find with other children and adults.
click here to read the full interview with the National Building Museum
Brooklyn Author Debuts Second Book on NYC Architecture
While Urban Animals teaches kids basic architectural terms by highlighting quirky details on city buildings, Building Stories presents the analogy that buildings: They each have a story to tell.
click here to read the full article in Brooklyn Parent
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
New York photographer Isabel Hill’s Building Stories captures fanciful details of city architecture that open kids’ eyes to the often unseen marvels of their hometown. Each spread has a close-up—a fire hydrant, several baboons—on the left, and a wider shot on the right that puts the image into context. Charming couplets make the connection between the detail and the building’s purpose crystal clear: “Lions, monkeys and elephants, to name a few / Of the characters on these buildings of a famous zoo.”
-Time Out Kids NY
“Building Stories is a book that arrives only once in a while, a buildings had so much to say? All we had to do was listen. Isabel Hill absolutely speaks the mysterious language of buildings.”
-V.S., New York Journal of Books
“Every building tells a story, one that can be uncovered simply by taking the time to look closely. Isabel Hill teaches children to notice and value these stories, instilling an appreciation for the places that define us as a nation and as people.”
-Stephanie Meeks, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
“Building Stories is a great introduction to architecture. Isabel Hill inspires young readers to look really closely and find meaning in a building’s details. This whimsical book brings buildings to life!”
-Joanne Seelig, Family Programs Manager, National Building Museum
Building Stories by Isabel Hill, is a beautiful and educational book that not only captures the interest of children but also adults. The book displays images and captions that help children to start to notice and understand the symbolic meaning and value of art that is displayed on public buildings.
-makobi scribe
I liked helping my son predict what he thought each building had been used for, and he still liked the rhymes. It opened up the opportunity to talk about the past.
-Rebecca reads