Customer Reviews

Julia Morgan Built a Castle

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At a time when most girls aspired only to marry and keep house, Julia Morgan dreamed of building a house - but in the late 19th century women just didn't become architects. She fought for her desires anyway, becoming the first woman to study architecture in Paris and becoming California's first licensed women architect. Julia Morgan Built a Castle holds gorgeous drawings by Miles Hyman and presents a lovely story of a young girl's dreams - it reads like fiction with high drama but is biography at its best.

Our second grade class loved this book. Much to my surprise, boys and girls alike were as captivated by the architectural details peppered throughout, as they were by Morgan's inspiring story. Never underestimate the mind of a child! As for me, I love the way the building of San Simeon (and the career that led to this commission) serves as a metaphor for proactively building one's dreams. A powerful message for our children, and well delivered.

This is the first book I draw from the shelf when we begin our biography unit. Despite facing sexism meant to keep Julia Morgan from realizing her dream to become an architect, Julia persevered and went on to become prolific in both designs of her public and private buildings. Her struggles to be accepted in Paris to study is chronicled and becomes a wonderful opportunity to discuss what life was like back then. Perhaps best known for Hearst Castle, she demonstrated an ability to be accommodating and flexible with her client. This story is inspiring and encouraging for students. Mannis is easily understood by my 4th grade students and Hyman's illustrations are colorful and draw students in.

my 9 & 10 yr old 4th grade daughter's school reading contract required her to read a specific # of both fiction & non fiction bks @ her particular reading level, & then pass Accelerated Reader (AR) tests on vocabulary & content; most girls gravitate naturally toward fiction & are less drawn to non fiction; this is true w/my daughter; libraries @ both elementary schools she attended PreK - 4th grade had much wider fiction selections than non fiction; aside from biographies, non fiction tended to be dry science & nature topics that were less than captivating; biography series for kids abound & plenty are good, but multiple series cover the same basic group of people; I found the bk whilst searching for more unique non fiction; this was a welcome change, as it entertained & informed, rather than put us to sleep; I was not familiar w/Julia Morgan; the fact that she was both black & a woman made her a particularly interesting subject given the time period & her chosen field - architecture; a neat next step to reading this bk would be a visit to the Hearst Castle in CA