BUYING ADVISORY: EL – OPTIONAL; MS – ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
This title contains examples of biomimicry in buildings around the world in terms of their design, energy conservation, building materials, and energy and water use. The buildings described include the Fulton Center in New York City, the Esplanade Theaters in Singapore, the Gherkin tower in the UK, and the Eastgate Center in Zimbabwe. Inspiration came from plants and animals, such as the spookfish eyes, the durian fruit’s spiky skin, wind-blown leaves, and sea sponges. In addition to extensive sidebars and a multitude of photos and diagrams, this book also includes before and after reading activities and questions, glossary (with bold words in text), index, and further reading suggestions.
The subject is current and fascinating, which curious students will eat up. I found it a little difficult to follow the gist of the main text if I stopped to read the sidebars and captions as I went, and the design on some pages made it confusing to quickly distinguish between the main text and sidebars. That being said, I was riveted by the ingenuity demonstrated on every page with each new explanation about how a system in nature is being applied to a human building need. This book is an excellent example of critical thinking in practice, as well as a fun way to cover geography.
Reviewed by P.K. Foster, teacher-librarian
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