The life and work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright provide a rich mine of material for biographers and art historians. Going’s picture-book biography is sensibly limited to two themes—geometry and nature—tracing how Wright’s early
childhood, spent playing and dreaming in forests and fields and building with geometric blocks, was the foundation of his work and his long and illustrious career. She writes lovingly and rhythmically (“Raindrops made changing shapes— clear and cold. Lightning made jagged shapes—sharp and burnt. The river made smooth shapes—long and curved”), but she avoids a tone of hero-worship and never names Wright. He is “the baby,” then “the boy,” and then “the architect.” The illustrations make the historical and personal setting specific, but in the text he could be any imaginative, aware child. Stringer’s warm and accessible pictures show Wright at various stages of life against backdrops that nod to his designs. Every aspect of the book is thoughtful, from the square trim size to the color palette to the typeface based on lettering designed by Wright. Author’s and illustrator’s notes, a list of sources, and a key to the Wright buildings and structures incorporated into the illustrations round out this inviting introduction.