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"Frank Lloyd Wright and His New American Architecture" by Bob Kann

Author:

Bob Kann

Publisher:

Wisconsin Historical Society Press

Kann, Bob.  Frank Lloyd Wright and His New American Architecture.  Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2010

A charming anecdote entitled “Barkitecture” brings to life the quixotic nature of this gifted world renowned architect, widely criticized in book for adults for his imperious nature.  Here, storyteller/author Bob Kann relates the true story of the 12-year old boy who worried about where his dog would sleep, once his father had finished building the house designed by Wright.  Often too busy for adults, the master did indeed find time to design a plan (reproduced in this book) so that the dog wouldn’t be homeless.

In brief compass, only 103 pages, Kann retells highlights of the architect’s rising to his mother’s expectations that he would be an architect.  The stories are widely known:  The Froebel Gifts (wooden forms), the vagabonds nature of Frank’s childhood, the success of the Imperial Hotel despite doubters who also watched in disbelief as Wright proved his Johnson Wax building columns would not fail.  Kann skips lightly over the then-notorious escape to Europe with Mrs. Cheney, a married woman, and completely passes off Wright’s relationship with Miriam Noel.  Those aspects of his life can await more mature readers.

Throughout, each word the child readers might not know are boldfaced with brief footnote explanation on the same page.  Because of its compact, paperback format (7x9”) the photographs and plans are necessarily small but they may intrigue some children to explore further with other, larger books in color. 

As an introduction, this most recent book in a series of biographies for young readers serves the admirable purpose of introducing children to an art form and one of the most significant practitioners of it.  The series is wide ranging, including a book about a woman doctor who was the leading force in building a rural hospital, and another about those clever men who started a motorcycle company known world wide yet today.

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