Today, I would like to recommend a new book, The Great China Miracle, which is an encyclopedic picture book of children's architectural history. The complete set of five books are Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, Mogao Grottoes, Terracotta Warriors and Horses, and Tulou, which is a landmark building in China and a world cultural heritage that every child (including adults) should know about.
These five buildings represent five different types of buildings and mainly use five different materials:
Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes: Religious Buildings Excavated on Rock Walls
Great Wall: A defensive building built of masonry.
Temple of Heaven: Altars and temple buildings built of wood.
Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum: A mausoleum building with clay at the bottom.
Tulou: A residential building rammed with rammed earth.
Not only the building itself, this picture book covers all aspects of knowledge such as history, geography, science and art behind the building. It looks professional and learned, but the language is not obscure at all. Exquisite details, steps, profiles, large format, and the style of Chinese painting pigments are simply shocking! It is really "the crystallization of wisdom"!