Architecture According to Pigeons

He's not driving the bus, but Speck Lee Tailfeather is more than capable of piloting this tour of world architecture, offering a pigeon's-eye perspective of structures including Canterbury Cathedral, Fallingwater, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and more. Every spread features one or more buildings from around the globe, several of which receive apt nicknames in pigeon-speak (the Great Wall of China is "The Great Worm"). Speck's informative (and informed!) commentary appears in paragraphs at the bottom of each page, while dialogue balloons offer additional tidbits. Speck's cavalier narration is often amusing, though at times his observations can be overblown ("Some of the most breathtaking moments on my trip have been when I spotted a monumental bridge soaring across the empty space of a valley, its natural curve echoing the bow of a rainbow or the hang of a spider's web"). Seki's collage-style artwork mixes photographic elements into vistas with a matte, marbled texture, offering dramatic representations of such structures as Gaud%C3%AD's Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. An engaging architectural overview, courtesy of a one-of-a-kind tour guide. Ages 7%E2%80%93up. (Oct.)