Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building

Christy Hale

BookEarly ChildhoodElementaryArchitect

About

A picture book that connects great works of architecture to the ways children build and play.

Cup
on cup
s tacking up,
smaller, smaller,
and growing taller!

Children building-
Concrete poetry-

Pair them with notable structures from around the world and see children's constructions taken to the level of architectural treasures.

Here is a unique celebration of children's playtime explorations and the surprising ways childhood experiences find expression in the dreams and works of innovative architects.

Come be inspired to play-dream-build-discover!

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Why it’s great

Each spread pairs a child’s block play or sand-castle scene with the real building it inspired—​from adobe pueblos to Gaudí’s Sagrada Família—​showing that professional architecture begins with play. Bright collage art keeps younger readers engaged, while poetic text introduces basic design vocabulary. A perfect read-aloud that validates kids’ homemade creations and invites them to “dream up” their own structures.