The Shape of the World: A Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright

A boyhood fascination with shapes and nature informed the hundreds of structures Frank Lloyd Wright would go on to design as an architect. Going and Stringer thoughtfully examine those twin influences through this biography’s poetic text and handsome illustrations. Created with pencil and paint, Stringer’s layouts draw on the geometric shapes and strong horizontal lines of the Prairie School movement; several of Wright’s famous buildings, including Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum, appear throughout (a closing guide identifies these and other structures). Going, meanwhile, emphasizes the curiosity, questioning, and observation that shaped his designs: “He never forgot the smooth weight of the blocks his mother had given him when he was a boy. He remembered the hills and prairies surrounding his family’s farm.” A lovely introduction to the work of this trailblazing architect. Ages 5–10. Author’s agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Sept.)