What's That Building? An Architectural Guessing Game

A playful introduction to design and architecture with cutaway scenes of ten buildings, featuring an interactive guessing game and search-and-find

In this interactive first book of architecture, children discover how architects design everyday buildings, from planetariums, aquariums, and airports to supermarkets and shopping malls, so that they best meet their users’ needs. Set up as a guessing game, the book presents clues that invite readers to guess which type of building is needed in 10 different scenarios. For example, what building do you need for students, teachers, and learning about science, history, and art? A school! Children continue the fun by looking for the hidden architect on each spread.

Answers are provided in dramatic cutaway reveals that are jam-packed with details that children will delight in. Each building is accompanied by informative yet whimsical text that explains its architectural and design features.

Rebecca Donnelly is the author of more than 30 children’s books, including the Indies Introduce/Kids’ Indie Next pick How to Stage a Catastrophe. Her nonfiction book Total Garbage: A Messy Dive into Trash, Waste, and Our World was a School Library Journal Best Book of 2023.

Jocelyn Cho is a San Francisco-based illustrator whose work spans a diverse range of publications, including school textbooks, fiction book covers, and magazines such as The Hollywood Reporter. This is her debut children’s book.