Block Building for Children: Making Buildings of the World with the Ultimate Construction Toy

Anything but plain, the wooden block is the basis for everything from geometric patterns to a cathedral in Block Building for Children by Lester Walker, preface by Witold Rybczynski. Illustrated with 67 black-and-white photographs and 125 line drawings, this guide helps would-be architects construct everything from a Greek temple to the Emerald City of Oz (Overlook, $22.95, 167p, ages 9-up ISBN 0-87951-609-7 Nov.).