Castle: How It Works

by David Macaulay
David Macaulay Studio/Macmillan | 2012

David Macaulay's new early reader series, My Readers, kicks off with Castle: How It Works. David is already famous for his other Castle book, written in 1977, along with his other amazing books about buildings (Mosque, Pyramid, City, and more) as well as the one that started it all in 1973, Cathedral. He is also lauded for his The Way Things Work books. You should check out all of his books, but for now let's stick with this new one in this new series.

Here, David explains how a castle works in words and pictures accessible to new readers.  He writes in the second person, addressing the child reader and inviting them into the castle. He gives a a tour about how things work for both friends and foes of the castle.

Some text examples:

"If you are friend you must first climb a steep ramp. It ends at a wooden drawbridge. The drawbridge crosses the moat."

"If you are a foe, or an enemy, you won't be let in. To capture the castle you will have to surround it and wait. This is called a siege."

The clear and precise language allows early readers to investigate both words and pictures independently.

The book includes a Words to Know section complete with a diagram of the castle's parts, a list of websites to visit to learn more, and an index for the most intrepid readers. Jet Plane: How It Works is also available already, and more titles are planned.