Imagine what readers, teachers, librarians, and publishers thought when this, a children's picture book about the building of a fictional medieval French cathedral illustrated in black and white pen-and-ink, was released in 1973. The text is accompanied by large-scale drawings of stunning birds-eye views interspersed with instructional sketches of life on the ground. It must have blown everyone's minds. It was named a Caldecott Honor book.


(these samples don't do it justice - you must see it in its original large format.)

Despite loving David Macaulay's PBS programs Cathedral and Castle since childhood, I had never read this book until now. The programs followed me through my education from elementary school to community college and I later bought them on DVD so I could continue watching them at home and share them with my children. His drawing style influenced my own, which I believe later influenced my daughter's. I had the opportunity to meet Macaulay after a lecture at Utah State University in October, 2014 and he was as smart, kind, and creative as I always thought he was. He not only signed our copy of Cathedral, but he also left an original drawing on the title page. I'll treasure it forever.