BURIED BLUEPRINTS

Lorenz and Schleh (House, 1998, etc.) have wonderfully imagined 14 places or structures made famous by myth and legend, offering wry commentary and myriad details to pore over. This book literally starts at the beginning, covering the Garden of Eden, the Ark, and the Tower of Babel; Lorenz and Schleh travel with Odysseus around the Aegean and with Robin Hood and his men through Sherwood Forest, wreak havoc with Genghis Khan, and foster menace with Dracula. Each locale is given a page-long introduction, before a gatefold page reveals an outsized illustration elegantly crammed with detail, incident, and witticisms (so much so that a magnifying glass has been included). The utterly transporting artwork is a marvel of color and visual narrative, with plenty of humor (Noah’s ark comes equipped with methane vents), quietly biting commentary (the page of the Ark is bordered by drawings of endangered species), and quests that readers can embark on within the illustrations. Within these pages are funny details for the Where’s Waldo? set, with a sophisticated comedic embrace for older children, and some set pieces, dry as tinder, that will spark laughter in onlooking adults. (Picture book. 7+)