Review
'An immediate strength of the World Famous Building series is its extensive inclusion of iconic landmarks from non-Western countries. Each nonfiction early reader uses concise text to explain the building’s location, construction, role in history, and significance today. To boost fluency, contextual clues rather than in-text definitions help readers decipher more difficult words, though a concluding glossary is also available. Numerous high-quality photos, occasionally with labeled terms, draw attention to each building’s stunning architecture. Angor Wat focuses on the extensive temples of this religious site—the largest in the world— and its importance to Hindus and Buddhists in Cambodia. The Great Mosque of Djenné describes the distinct architectural features and upkeep of the world’s largest mud-brick building, located in Mali, and how it is used as a place of worship for Muslims. Petronas Towers emphasizes the architect of the world’s tallest twin buildings and his beautiful design, which incorporates an eight-pointed star, reflecting unity and harmony in Malaysia’s national religion of Islam. St. Basil’s Cathedral highlights the Russian Orthodox church’s renowned colorful onion domes, its unusual-for-the-time wood-and-brick construction for the time, and its religious interior. Interspersed infographics, such as maps, size-comparison graphs, and fact boxes with images, add visual support to this series for young history and architecture enthusiasts.', Angela Leeper, Booklist
