Iggy Peck, Architect (The Questioneers) by David Roberts

Iggy Peck, Architect (The Questioneers) Reviews

• 
  Betsy

  It was pretty clear right from the start that Iggy Peck wasn't your normal toddler. No, by age two he'd discovered how to construct towers out of diapers (interesting, if not particularly sanitary). By three he used fruit to create his constructions, and by the time he hit the second grade he was getting more and more creative. That's when he got into Ms. Greer's class. Ms. Greer had once suffered an unfortunate incident in a very tall building, and the result is that she felt from there on in that, "all building-lovers were nuts." Forbidden to build, Iggy's spirit is crushed. That is, until the day the class is trapped on a small island with little hope of escape. Little hope, that is, until Iggy's skills prove useful when it comes to escape.
  
  Of course I can already see the wild glint in the eyes of the parents who will hope against hope that by buying this book they will be able to coerce their own little Johnny or Jill into wanting to be an architect someday too. You can't hardly blame `em, neither. I mean, the combined efforts of author Andrea Beaty and illustrator David Roberts make this particular occupation look remarkably cool. Roberts bears much of the credit for this, I'll wager. His style appears to be nothing so much as Gerald McBoing Boing meets Frank Lloyd Wright. And I will wager good money that Mr. Roberts has probably flown under your radar until now. At this point in time he was probably best known for his Cinderella: An Art Deco Love Story, which gives you a fairly good sense of his tastes and styles. In "Iggy Peck", Roberts has channeled the style of the late 50s, early 60s instead. Iggy is a chipper soul with a thick patch of hair that flies straight out from the top of his head like a plane from a landing strip. The women in his life, that being his mother and his teacher Miss Lila Greer, sport some remarkable up-dos of their own. That alongside their natty sweaters, single print dresses, and high-button shoes, gives the book a kind of grounding in the history of American design. Fortunately for us, Roberts has not traveled so far back that he has failed to create a nicely multi-ethnic classroom. And might I say, much of the fun for grown-ups reading this book centers on getting to watch the clothes and shoes of the other kids in Iggy's class. Hairstyles too.
  
  The story we find here is entirely reliant on liking your protagonist and appreciating his struggle. And you do like Iggy. Iggy's a pretty cool dude. A little too focused on a single all-consuming passion, maybe, but at least he knows what he likes. Ms. Andrea Beatty offers enough details here to get kids interested in not only Iggy's trials but that of his young teacher as well. The defining moment in Miss Greer's life, when she was trapped in an elevator with a French circus troupe, is sufficiently horrific to make anyone understand her dislike of tall buildings. The fact that the book is written in verse is a tough one though. If you're going to walk that line then you need to be just as careful as possible when it comes to scansion. So it is that lines like this sometimes had to give me pause: " `We're trapped here! Oh my! Alas, kids, good-bye!' / Her eyeballs rolled back in her head. / She dropped to the ground with a vague groaning sound. / (Luckily fainted - not dead)." I mean, you can make it work if you give a brief pause before the word "luckily", but anyone reading this book aloud is going to have to read it through a couple times before trying it out on the kids.
  
  All that said, it's a treat. Original and enjoyable and lots of fun to read. And hey, if you want to use it to convince the youth of America that architecture is a fun and interesting occupation, by all means go ahead.
• 
  Mir

  An amusing story of an infant architecture prodigy who just wants to build. I wasn't expecting an actual architecture-saves-the-day adventure. An implausible one, as is it the set-up with the teacher's fear and loathing of architecture. I would have preferred a more genuine exploration of why kids should be encouraged to pursue their interests. And teachers may not love this one as it seems to validate ignoring class lessons that you're not interested in and doing your own thing.
• 
  Kathryn

  Outstanding!!! This gem is full of charm, humor, warmth, creativity and tenacity. Iggy Peck is a born architect--one of those lucky few who knows absolutely what he wants to do with his life and decides to do it in every way he can--starting by using his diapers to build a skyscraper! His parents encourage his creativity and talent, but when Iggy gets to second grade his teacher puts a damper on both. Because SHE does not like tall buildings (she had an unfortunate experience as a child!) no one else should, either. And certainly they should NOT build them, or even talk about them, in the classroom. But when a bridge breaks during a school field trip, stranding Iggy's class on an island, the teacher faints away in fear and it is up to Iggy's talent and ingenuity--with a little help from his classmates--to save them. Kids will love the funny illustrations and amusing construction materials Iggy uses, as well as his heroism in the face of incompetent adults. Parents and teachers will find a cautionary tale and be reminded of just how easy it is for us to foist our own phobias and rules onto the innocent blossoming of childhood.
  
  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
  
  (If any of you know and love Harry Chapin's song about the teacher and the artistic child, "Flowers Are Red" you will love this book--same idea, but more cheerful!)
• 
  Eh?Eh!

  This book is that
  Flowers are Red song but with a budding/bloomed architect instead of a painter. I would argue that his final construction project is more structural engineering than architecture, but quibbling hairsplits doesn't matter. Sweet story. A gift from a sweet person.
• 
  Abigail

  I'm going to have to disagree with the majority of online reviewers on this one - I've looked on various sites, and it seems that everybody loves Iggy Peck! - because I found this picture-book celebration of "creativity!" and "marching to the beat of one's own drum" (the two themes most frequently singled out for praise, as far as I can make out), rather poorly done. A rhyming tale about young Iggy Peck, who liked to build things, and his conflict with his stodgy second-grade teacher, Miss Lila Greer, who hated buildings - doesn't this just always happen?!? I often come across people with an irrational fear, not just of heights, but of buildings in general! - Iggy Peck, Architect was a distinct failure, when it came to arousing any sort of enthusiasm, textual or artistic, in me.
  
  Some of this is personal, obviously. I didn't really care for David Roberts' artwork, although I did find his use of graphing paper, from time to time, quite intriguing. I didn't care for the themes, not because I don't believe that creativity, and marching to that individualistic drum are important, but because their presentation was so cliched. "Not another drubbing of the poor beleaguered school teacher, everybody's favorite punching bag these days!," I found myself thinking, as I read. "Not another paean to the poor misunderstood child genius, who, after all, only wants to build massive chalk castles, in the middle of his teacher's lesson about something else!" These issues, though, obviously struck other readers' differently. Other readers apparently appreciated the artwork here, and liked the presentation of the themes, which is fair enough. What has me scratching my head a little bit, is the praise they give the sing-songy narrative, which was often-times awkward and stilted, with rhymes that sometimes felt forced.
  
  I'm bemused, as always, to be so out of step with the current zeitgeist - it does happen from time to time - but I guess in the end I'll take a page from Iggy's book, and just do my own thing. Which, in this case, involves not caring for Iggy Peck.
• 
  Carmen

  When Iggy was three, his parents could see
  his unusual passion would stay.
  He built churches and chapels from peaches and apples
  and temples from modeling clay.
  
  I liked this better than
  Rosie Revere, Engineer. Iggy is a small boy who is an architectural genius. But what happens when he gets to the 2nd grade and comes face-to-face with a teacher who has a deep-seated fear of architecture rooted in her childhood?
  
  Fun, innovative, with great illustrations and a positive message.
  
  NOTES:
  Graph paper end papers.
  
  A cat with heterochromia - and one eye is blue. Be sure to tell your child that this means the cat can see ghosts! (But only if the creature has one blue eye. Any human or animal born with one blue eye and one eye of a different color can see ghosts. Heterochromia of, let's say, one green eye and one brown eye - while beautiful - will NOT produce a ghost-seeing person/animal.)
  
  The book rhymes.
• 
  La Coccinelle

  This is probably the weakest book in the series I've read so far. I wasn't thrilled with the story (although the kid building stuff out his his dirty diapers was an amusing feat). I don't like seeing female characters fainting; it just perpetuates old stereotypes. And the meter in this one, for whatever reason, was clumsy. It was really a stretch in places, and it would be a bit difficult to read aloud.
  
  Quotable moment:
  
  

  "Good Gracious, Ignacious!" his mother exclaimed.
  "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen."
  But her smile faded fast as a light wind blew past
  and she realized those diapers weren't clean!
• 
  Lata

  Cute, and funny use of a variety of unconventional building materials. Love the illustrations.
• 
  Stefani Sloma

  Really cute story with some wonderful illustrations. Not exactly one I would read in story time at the library as there are some parts where the text is rather long, but this one would be perfect for some one-on-one reading with the little builder in your life. A great story about not giving up and doing the things you love.
• 
  Kate prefers books to people

  I was a little disappointed on the re-read that there weren't more things that rhymed with Ignatius. My four year old just discovered this series.
  
  This is a short rhyming picture book about a kid genius. He starts building incredible things at age 2 using dirty diapers. Most of the book has Iggy in second grade, where he's got Miss Greer for his teacher. She hates architecture because she was traumatized by getting stuck in an elevator on a field trip when she was a child. She throws away his books and demands that he stop building things.
  
  Then the class goes on a field trip and they get stranded on a little island when a footbridge collapses. Miss Greer faints, and Iggy sets to work building a new bridge. He saves the class. Iggy becomes the weekly guest speaker on architecture.
• 
  Ann

  What a refreshing story! The basic premise is a rhyming tale about young Iggy Peck who wants to be and Architect. From a toddler he starts building all sorts of things out of highly unusual materials. But when Iggy gets to second grade ends up with a teacher who's afraid of tall buildings. Consequently he's told that architecture in second grade is out of the question. With Iggy's passion removed, school suddenly becomes dull and uninteresting. However, of course, there is a grand chance for Iggy to prove himself towards the end.
  
  I thought the illustrations fitted this story quite well, and for the most part the rhymes were good - only a few times did Beaty "stretch" for the rhyme. But, I thought the word choices were delightful and sounded fun to say and I never felt Beaty talked down to her readers. But I was most pleased with the stories underlying sense of striving for your dreams and how dangerous adults and institutions can be to putting a damper on a child's creativity.
  
  Highly, HIGHLY recommended!!!!
• 
  Melissa

  Had to complete the series while I was in a Hoopla binge. Not my favorite of the series, this one was more a they saved the day with their talent, instead of just encouraging them to explore more, so I think it muddled the message just a bit, but still good...even though I’m partial to the other two more.
• 
  Melki

  Young Iggy has a penchant for architecture, and likes nothing more than making elaborate structures using whatever is handy - dirt clods, fresh fruit, chalk, dirty diapers . . . Cute story with fun illustrations.
• 
  Paula

  There's a lady with a beehive hairdo and a beauty spot on the cover of this book - a sure-fire signifier of "quirky," perhaps even "offbeat". And let me tell you, it ain't just the illustrations! (although now I'm craving Iggy's mom's Pucci-esque caftans and Twiggy A-lines) The story is fun and the wordplay is quirky in this book about a second-grade engineering prodigy.
  
  "Young Iggy Peck is an architect
  and has been since he was two,
  when he built a great tower - in only an hour -
  with nothing but diapers and glue.
  'Good Gracious, Ignacious!' his mother exclaimed.
  'That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!'
  But her smile faded fast as a light wind blew past
  and she realized those diapers weren't clean!
  
  Oh and PS of COURSE - David Roberts is the superstar who illustrated one of my all-time super-faves, Janet Wong's The Dumpster Diver. I remember the Missoni jumpsuit in that one - the guy likes fashion, I think, and that ain't bad.
• 
  Dolly

  This is a hilarious and whimsical look at a child prodigy who is in turn encouraged and discouraged from pursuing his passion for building buildings and other structures. The rhythmic and rhyming narrative is very entertaining and the illustrations are fabulous. It's a terrific book to read aloud and we really enjoyed reading this story together.
  
  This book was featured as one of the selections for the
  November 2011 Inventors-themed reads for the
  Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
• 
  Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023)

  3* art
  5* story/rhyme
  
  "Good gracious, Ignacious!" You've got to love a book with a line like that in it. Like her other books, this one is about a child who is different, feels misunderstood, but who is full of ideas and plans, and continues on with them in spite of everything. So positive and humorous. I highly recommend.
• 
  Chance Lee

  I hadn't read this book in years and forgot how fun it is to read aloud. Great rhymes, beautiful illustrations, inspirational story for the kids and fun stuff for the adults.
• 
  Allie S.

  3.75 stars
• 
  Anna Richland

  The illustrations far surpass the text - my children enjoyed the book with me, because we talk about the pictures, but it's not one they pick up on their own.
  
  It's definitely worth reading from the library, and the message about creativity at school is timely as more and more schools (ours included) seem to become very boilerplate, but there was some essential spark that I wasn't finding.
  
  Maybe it's just the gray weather as I write this - or maybe it's the fact that even a small child can recognize that Iggy's solution to the problem of his teacher's lack of creativity is contrived. It's eye-rollingly obvious that a teacher as uninspired as his would never take the class on a hike. Come on, when was the last time any school went on a hike? Field trips are rare, and a teacher alone with a whole class on a hike, no other chaperones? Never. Even preschoolers know that. So while my children liked the way Iggy built architectural masterpieces, the solution to the story problem left feeling so-so.
• 
  Michael Daines

  The great failing of this book is the negative portrayal of the second-grade teacher. We live in society that is attacking teachers in the press and politics, and I'm of the strong opinion that this is flat-out wrong. Sure, as my kids get older, they are going to encounter any number of stories with "evil" teachers, but for the target age range of this book, it's just inappropriate.
  
  I read through this book because the author's other book — "Rosie Revere, Engineer" — is an absolute gem. The intent and resolution of "Architect" are good, but just don't balance against the negative for me.
• 
  Jodi

  Clever, fantastic illustrations, and quite hilarious. My one quibble is that, before I even opened the book, my daughter asked what an architect was. My son correctly answered that it is a person who designs buildings, not the person who builds them. We then open the book to find Iggy Peck, Architect/Builder. In spite of that, lines like "Good gracious Ignacious!" are enough to make up for that semantic error.
• 
  Jenna

  Sarjan ensimmäinen osa Roosa Ruuti on ollut meidän perheen kestosuosikki lainattava kirjastosta jo pitkän aikaa. Tämä seuraava osa sarjassa ei yltänyt mielestämme aivan samoihin sfääreihin, tosin paljaat peput ja pikkuhousut kuvituksen yksityiskohtina tietysti hieman naurattivatkin.
• 
  Mid-Continent Public Library

  Iggy Peck has been an architect since the age of two, constructing towers from nothing but diapers and glue. Once he is sent to the second grade, he meets his teacher who puts an end to all things architecture and building. How will Iggy be able to express his passion once again? Enjoy this one now by checking out a copy on Mymcpl.org or searching for it on Overdrive! – Reviewed by Stephanie at MCPL Reading Rocket
• 
  Rachel

  As with the other books in the series, the art is fantastic. But this story is very odd. The premise that a teacher would stifle a student's creativity/interests because of a fear of buildings (?) just felt bizarre.
• 
  Jennifer Palmer

  My new favorite children's book. This book is about letting a child be a child and use their imagination to build and create.
• 
  Jen

  Three point five. The story was a little scattered here and there, but I liked that the kill-joy teacher learns a lesson in the end.