Iggy Peck, Architect

Photo credit andreabeaty.com

“Young Iggy Peck is an architect and has been since he was two, when he build a great tower - in only an hour - with nothing but diapers and glue.” Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts, takes the nature of young children to build to a whole new level. Young Iggy is not like other toddlers and continues his passion for architecture in exciting new ways!

The style in which Andrea Beaty writes with musical rhyming language brings so much fun and engagement to this story. The precisely chosen words to enhance the rhyming poetic tone of the story is magical. Lines such as “When Iggy was three, his parents could see his unusual passion would stay. He built churches and chapels from peaches and apples, and temples from modeling clay” increase the strength and appeal of this story, while not distracting from the well defined plot of the story. The consistent rhythm and cadence throughout the whole story makes for a fun read aloud experience.

Along with the musical language, David Roberts creates illustrations that utilize very precise lines that mimic the style of an architectural blueprint, which adds a nice touch. The details within the illustrations provide an extensive look at different architectural elements such as the St. Louis Arch, the Great Sphinx, and Big Ben out of everyday materials is beautifully done. The thin, precise lines look very nice and neat and as the story goes on the illustrations eventually end up being overlaid over lined graph paper to show how the illustrations utilize the straight lines that architects are typically known for.

Together, the musical language that flows in unique ways to add details to the story unifies along with the illustrations to create a lovely package of a book. My favorite example of the wonderful composition of text with the illustrations is the page where the bridge on their field trip collapses and the words “footbridge collapsed, and Miss Lila Greer started to scream” zig zag down the page like the are falling along with the bridge. This was a wonderful visual enhancement with the text. Another great example of the composition is the text, “After twelve long days that passed in a haze of reading, writing, and arithmetic, Miss Greer took the class to Blue River Pass for a hike and an old-fashioned picnic” flow up and down the pages with the class walking on top of them, like they are walking over hills.

I think the quote that stuck with me the most and that I wholeheartedly agree with is, “It all became clear to Miss Lila Greer, as she crossed that bridge over the stream. There are worse things to do when you’re in grade two than to spend your time building a dream.” Allowing students to pursue their passions from an early age is so vitally important. We all have unique talents and gifts that should not be stifled just to fit the mold of someone else. While this is a big theme for a picture book, it is clearly defined within all the wonderful illustrations and musical text making it a high quality picture book that I think lots of little builders will enjoy just as much as I did!

Each page is so visually appealing and sure to engage readers of all ages. The text and illustrations flow together so effortlessly and really enhance each other. The unique words that the reader experiences because the author wanted to continue the cadence and rhyme throughout the whole story seem so effortless, but are precisely perfect. The simple, clean, yet detailed illustrations were so captivating that this book is a perfect choice for both read alouds and visual literacy. The interconnectedness of text and visuals is seamless. I cannot recommend this book enough! Now young Iggy Peck can be seen following his dream and you too can do the same!

Beaty, A. (2007). Iggy Peck, Architect. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers.