September 3 – Skyscraper Day

Happy Skyscraper Day!

There’s a very funny chapter book for young readers, that my classes always loved to hear. It was Sideways Stories from Wayside School written by Louis Sachar.

Sideways School was built sideways instead of longways, which means all the classrooms were stacked one on top of the other instead of side by side. And each chapter is a story about one of the people in Mrs. Gorf’s class. Mrs. Gorf is the meanest teacher in the school. If she didn’t like you, she turned you into an apple. Luckily Mrs. Gorf met her demise in the first chapter and the students met their new teacher, an extremely nice teacher in the second chapter. Even if your child can’t read independently, they will love to hear this silly stories. Each one is short but full of scholarly fun!

If you’re interested in building your own skyscrapers and city scenes, you might enjoy the lego building book, Cool City.

Cool City written and illustrated and photographed by Sean Kenney (2011)

This 32-page picture book, shows a lego city built by the author in close detail and with directions for building your own fun city. There are even stickers at the back of the book you can use to label some of your creations.

Up Goes the Skyscraper! written and illustrated by Gail Gibbons (1990)

Readers learn all about how skyscrapers are built in this picture book. It takes the reader through the complete process from plans and designs to the finished product. Published in a tall rectangular shape, the book feels like a skyscraper among other picture books too. The reader learns and uses vocabulary like substructure, framework, architect, bedrock, pile driver, anchor bolts, columns, girders, and many more.

The Little Skyscraper written and illustrated by Scott Santoro (2001)

Jack is a little boy who loves to visit the skyscraper downtown. His parents take him to the top of the skyscraper to look out over the city. Jack announces that he wants to be an architect and build skyscrapers just like this one. Many years pass, and during that time many more skyscrapers are built downtown. They were all bigger and taller than the little skyscraper. Then one day Jack comes back. He is a grown man now and an architect. Jack convinces the city to refurbish the little skyscraper and make it a historical building. Now even the tallest skyscrapers look up to the little skyscraper.