#iggypeck

Iggy Peck, architect is a fantastic book. Written by Andrea Beaty, the story is inventive and fun. This is her first book in a series of these types of stories. David Roberts illustrates them with fun and whimsical pictures. Any and all of these books make for a fun time.

Beaty’s rhyming language makes a creative story a lot of fun to read. Iggy Peck tells the story of a little boy who loves to build things. He builds things out of diapers, and dirt, pancakes and fruit. He build things in the back of the classroom until one day his teacher, Lila Greer, makes his stop. The story ends with Iggy Peck, Architect, saving Ms. Lila Greer. He build a bridge with the help of his classmates and his building skills save the day. The rhythm of the words, and way they are laid out create a fun read for parents and kids. The word and rhymes invoke a Dr. Seuss like feel when Beaty writes,

“ When Iggy was three, his parents could see his unusual passion would stay. He built churches and chapels from peaches and apples, and temples for modeling clay”. ( Beauty & Roberts. , para. 4, 2007)  

The message of never giving up, no matter what people tell you, in also a strong and important message. Also, teamwork and helping one another is also an additional message. These are important messages for kids to hear.

The illustrations in this book are stunning. David Roberts, who has collaborated often with Beaty, adds another dimension to the book. The lines create expressive faces and interesting shapes. The shapes of hair, noses, and eyes on the characters adds dimension.  His use of horizontal and vertical lines create beautiful pictures. He uses shadow and light to create subtle detail. Horizontal line can be used to suggest tranquility and order, and vertical lines may be used to capture a moment in the flow of the story (Young, Tunnel, Robert, Bryan, 2016)

His use of color and pattern also add another layer of detail which adds to the story. The pictures themselves, along with the bridges at the end of the story, are truly marvelous. The use of black and white in contrast to the colors adds to the composition of his work. The use of many different colors, blues, greens and red against black and white, provide mood. Different colors are used throughout the story to express setting and mood. Roberts also uses white and lack of color to emphasize emotions, like sadness and loneliness.

One can just admire the artwork without the story, and younger readers will love them. Beauty and Roberts make a wonderful team and the other books in this series have a similar look and feel. I enjoyed this book, as well as others in the series and the fun and whimsical attitude reminded me that adults don’t have to take everything so seriously. Check these books out if you haven’t done so, you will be ecstatic you did.

Reference

Beaty, A., & Roberts, D. (2007). Iggy Peck, architect. Boston, MA: National Braille Press.