Castle and Cathedral
by David Macaulay
If you are teaching about
the Middle Ages or have a student/child who is interested in castles or
illustrations, these two books are just what you're looking for. Both include
Macaulay's trademark highly details
illustrations--the type of
illustrations that beg to be poured over and pondered. They
bring the era to life and communicate the
immensity and majesty of medieval castles and cathedrals...as well as
what a tremendous undertaking it was to construct them. Using these books in a
whole
class activity could be a little tricky unless you have a document camera /projector or some
other way to project the illustrations on the screen. If you can
overcome this obstacle, however, these books will be tremendous
resources.
Castle by David
Macaulay
Castle
tells the fictional story of the construction of a magnificent castle in England, strategically built on a bluff overlooking the sea to assure continued domination over the Welsh. Readers witness the castle's methodical construction in intricate pen-and-ink pictures. Moats, dungeons, weaponry, and more are explained in detail. In the end, the citizens and leaders find defenses unnecessary, favoring cooperation instead.
A Caldecott Honoree Book.
Cathedral: The Story of
Its Construction by David
Macaulay
In
1252, the
people of a fictional French town plan and build a
cathedral after their church is destroyed by lightning. The reader
witnesses the construction of the beautiful edifice from viewing the
plans through the final addition of the towers. Accessible text is
paired with Macaulay's trademark highly detailed illustrations.
A Caldecott Honoree Book.
Reading Levels for Castle and Cathedral
Castle
Interest Level: Grade 5+
DRA Level: 60
Guided Reading Level: X
Cathedral
Interest Level: Grade 5+
DRA Level: 70
Lexile Measure: 1120L
Guided Reading Level: Z
Note on the reading level: Children generally do not read on the reading level (difficulty level) of this book until the middle of sixth grade (Castle) or end of sixth grade (Cathedral), so kids younger than that will need either extra support when reading independently OR this book will need to be a group read-aloud.
The suggested reading level for these books is grades 5 and up. While that range may seem too wide, Macaulay's books have a unique ability to meet the level of the reader. These two books are full of illustrations that communicate to various levels of reading ability. Older readers will be able to take in more details and perhaps read more of the accompanying text, but younger readers will glean a great deal just from simply pouring over all the many detailed illustrations. Exquisitely done!
See Inside Castle and Cathedral:
Below are sample pages from inside both books. The first two illustrations are from Castle and both demonstrate how the highly detailed illustrations are contain numerous educational components. For example, in this first picture of the castle's cathedral under construction, Macaulay has cut away part of the roof to illustrate how it is made, plus included men at work with ladders and pullies and scaffolding to show different construction methods and materials. The second picture shows and describes the gatehouse sections of the castle walls. This was the most important part of the castle's defenses due to their vulnerability, so great care was taken in the construction of these structures. Macaulay includes a cut-away view and describes the various defensive features such as the heavy wooden door, the arrow loops, and the 'murder holes.'
The illustrations below are from Cathedral, and
while these small versions should give you an idea of what the
illustrations look like, you really do have to see it in full book-
size to appreciate the intricate detailing involved. The first illustration depicts the unfinished cathedral during the
winter months. In the book, the page opposite this one describes the
work that was carried out
in small workshops during the winter months as well as which
activities had to be put on hold until spring. Integrating the impact
of weather on the cathedral's construction helps to further
reinforce the
fact that constructing a cathedral in the Middle Ages was not an
undertaking of months or years but decades and sometimes even
centuries. The second spread occurs early in the book and shows the floorplan
(left) and wall elevation (right) of the planned cathedral. Macaulay's
integrates many diagrams, unique angles, and dissected views of the
cathedral's various components (aka cut-aways). This allows the reader
to understand at a glance how buttresses worked, how the floorplan was
made to resemble a cross, how the foundation played a crucial role in
the integrity of the overall structure, etc...
