Everyday Structures from A to Z

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

This alphabet book about both natural and human-made structures examines
every kind of edifice, from a concrete skyscraper to a butterfly wing,
from a how-is-this-constructed? point of view. The text is divided into
26 single-page chapters: “About Structures,” “Buildings,”
“Construction,” “Domes,” “Everyday Structures,” “Famous
Structures,” “Geometric Shapes,” “Homes,” “Interior,”
“Joints,” “Kinds of Structures,” “Landforms,”
“Measuring,” “Natural Structures,” “Ornaments,”
“Playground Structures,” “Questions,” “Religious
Structures,” “Space Structures,” “Towers,” “Underground
Structures,” “Volcano,” “Wheel,” “Exciting Structures,”
“Your Structures,” and “Zigzag.”

Scores of full-color photographs and illustrations support the concise
but engrossing text. Sometimes the prose takes a surprising turn, as in
“Joints” when a suspension bridge’s arches are compared to a
rollerblader’s knees.

Although the book is aimed at young readers, many adults will look at
the world around them in a different light after reading it. A handy
glossary and an index are included. Highly recommended.