Victoria Tentler-Krylov celebrates the creative vision and life's work of a pioneering architect in her winning picture-book biography, Building Zaha: The Story of Architect Zaha Hadid.
From an early age, Zaha Hadid recognized beauty in form. She built upon her love of both art and math as she moved from Baghdad to Beirut then London in pursuit of formal training as an architect. Accruing admirers but facing skeptics at every turn, Zaha overcame obstacles presented by her gender and originality to create innovative building designs that now stand in countries around the world. "Zaha dreamed big and defied convention," breaking down barriers in her field with each ingenious structure she built.
Tentler-Krylov, an architect, conveys clear respect and admiration for Zaha. Fluid watercolor and digital illustrations befit a story about design by varying in scale and perspective; a handful of double-page, full-bleed spreads provide a pleasing contrast to Tentler-Krylov's use of white space, emphasizing Zaha's utterly singular vision. Every story element projects movement: a swirling font, vague references to time and text incorporated into building elements. A touching author's note, timeline and bibliography are included.
This affectionate biography honors a tenacious woman who tackled with exuberance a male-dominated discipline. Tentler-Krylov appreciatively recounts Zaha's unswerving faith in her own ability and vision, as well as Zaha's legacy of both intellectual ideals and the realization of inventive designs. While Zaha's work may be abstract to some young readers, this impressive author/illustrator debut could inspire creative young readers to pursue concrete STEM goals--fitting for a groundbreaker's biography. --Kit Ballenger, youth librarian, Help Your Shelf