“What are the best books about Skyscrapers?” We looked at 78 of the top Skyscraper books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 10 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Skyscraper” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 60+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 10 Skyscraper Books

10 .) How a House Is Built written by Gail Gibbons

Lists It Appears On:

• BuzzFeed
• Young Architect

Houses are built with many different materials, and in many shapes and sizes. Step by step, this picture book explains how homes are built–from the architect’s plans through the arrival of a happy family. The many processes of construction are explained with simple language and bright, clear illustrations, perfect for kids starting to wonder about how the world around them works. Many different careers–including carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and landscapers–are introduced, each doing their part to bring the picture wood-frame house to life. A great read for kids who love construction sites, or who can’t get enough of Building a House by Byron Barton. According to The Washington Post, Gail Gibbons “has taught more preschoolers and early readers about the world than any other children’s writer-illustrator.” Ms. Gibbons is the author of more than 100 books for young readers, including the bestselling titles From Seed to Plant and Monarch Butterfly. Her many honors include the Washington Post/Childrens Book Fuild Nonfiction Award and the NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book Award.

9 .) If I Built A House written by Chris Van Dusen

Lists It Appears On:

• BuzzFeed
• Young Architect

The much-anticipated follow-up to the E. B. White Award-winning picture book If I Built a Car In If I Built a Car, imaginative Jack dreamed up a whimsical fantasy ride that could do just about anything. Now he’s back and ready to build the house of his dreams, complete with a racetrack, flying room, and gigantic slide. Jack’s limitless creativity and infectious enthusiasm will inspire budding young inventors to imagine their own fantastical designs. Chris Van Dusen’s vibrant illustrations marry retro appeal with futuristic style as he, once again, gives readers a delightfully rhyming text that absolutely begs to be read aloud.

8 .) Iggy Peck, Architect written by Andrea Beaty

Lists It Appears On:

• BuzzFeed
• Young Architect

A hilarious, irreverent book about doing your own thing Meet Iggy Peck—creative, independent, and not afraid to express himself! In the spirit of David Shannon’s No, David and Rosemary Wells’s Noisy Nora, Iggy Peck will delight readers looking for irreverent, inspired fun. Iggy has one passion: building. His parents are proud of his fabulous creations, though they’re sometimes surprised by his materials—who could forget the tower he built of dirty diapers? When his second-grade teacher declares her dislike of architecture, Iggy faces a challenge. He loves building too much to give it up! With Andrea Beaty’s irresistible rhyming text and David Roberts’s puckish illustrations, this book will charm creative kids everywhere, and amuse their sometimes bewildered parents. Also from the powerhouse author-illustrator team of Iggy Peck, Architect, is Rosie Revere, Engineer, a charming, witty picture book about believing in yourself and pursuing your passion. Ada Twist, Scientist, the companion picture book featuring the next kid from Iggy Peck’s class, is available in September 2016.

7 .) NY Skyscrapers written by Dirk Stichweh

Lists It Appears On:

• RIBA Bookshops
• Thought Co

New York City is home to more skyscrapers than any other city in the world. Iconic in stature, they tell the story of the city’s commercial and architectural history. The buildings pictured here stretch from the sidewalks to the sky, from the East River to the Hudson, from Battery Park to the far reaches of Central Park. Along with structures that are familiar to readers such as the Empire State Building, the Chrysler and Woolworth buildings, there are other less recognizable but nonetheless important structures that have become a part of New Yorkers’daily lives. Each chapter focuses on an area of Manhattan, and opens with numbered maps showing the exact locations of the featured buildings. In a series of two to four page spreads, fullpage photographs of the skyscrapers are accompanied by additional illustrations, historical insights, architectural details, and interesting facts about their construction and evolution. An essay on the collective history of the city’s skyscrapers rounds out this compilation of nearly 85 examples of New York City’s most magnificent feature-its far-reaching, ever changing skyline.

6 .) Rise of the New York Skyscraper: 1865-1913 written by Professor Sarah Bradford Landau

Lists It Appears On:

• Riffle
• Thought Co

The invention of the New York skyscraper is one of the most fascinating developments in the history of architecture. This authoritative book chronicles the history of New York’s first skyscrapers, challenging conventional wisdom that it was in Chicago and not New York that the skyscraper was born.

5 .) Roberto, The Insect Architect written by Nina Laden

Lists It Appears On:

• BuzzFeed
• Young Architect

Ever since he was a wee mite (a termite, that is), Roberto has wanted to be an architect. Discouraged by his wood-eating family and friends, he decides to follow his dream to the big, bug city. There he meets a slew of not-so-creepy, crawly characters who spark in him the courage to build a community for them all.With stunning collage illustrations and witty text, the creator of the bestselling The Night I Followed the Dog, Private I. Guana, and When Pigasso Met Mootisse brings to life a funny and inspirational story that will encourage readers of any age to build their dreams.

4 .) The Story of Buildings: From the Pyramids to the Sydney Opera House and Beyond written by Patrick Dillon & Stephen Biesty

Lists It Appears On:

• BuzzFeed
• Young Architect

We spend most of our lives in buildings. We make our homes in them. We go to school in them. We work in them. But why and how did people start making buildings? How did they learn to make them stronger, bigger, and more comfortable? Why did they start to decorate them in different ways? From the pyramid erected so that an Egyptian pharaoh would last forever to the dramatic, machine-like Pompidou Center designed by two young architects, Patrick Dillon’s stories of remarkable buildings — and the remarkable people who made them — celebrates the ingenuity of human creation. Stephen Biesty’s extraordinarily detailed illustrations take us inside famous buildings throughout history and demonstrate just how these marvelous structures fit together.

3 .) Young Frank, Architect written by Frank Vita

Lists It Appears On:

• BuzzFeed
• Young Architect

Young Frank is an architect. He lives with his grandfather, Old Frank, who is also an architect and his spotted dog, Eddie. Using anything he can get his hands on; macaroni, pillows, toilet paper, shoes, Young Frank likes to build buildings that twist, chairs with zig zag legs and even entire cities. But Old Frank disapproves, saying architects only build buildings.

2 .) Architecture According to Pigeons written by Speck Lee Tailfeather

Lists It Appears On:

• Archinect
• BuzzFeed
• Young Architect

Hello, I am Speck. Come along, come along! Architecture According to Pigeons is a fun, lively introduction for children to world’s most beautiful buildings. In this delightful book, Speck Lee Tailfeather reveals that he and his fellow pigeons are in fact great aficionados of architecture. Speck delivers his account of a journey around the globe, offering a “bird’s eye view” of the Colosseum, the Taj Mahal, Golden Gate Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, and dozens of other buildings to delight children and parents alike.

1 .) The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale written by Steven Guarnaccia

Lists It Appears On:

• Archinect
• BuzzFeed
• Young Architect

In this quirky, artsy retelling of “The Three Little Pigs,” the pigs and their homes are nods to three famous architects—Frank Gehry, Phillip Johnson, and Frank Lloyd Wright—and their signature homes. Each house is filled with clever details, including furnishings by the architects and their contemporaries. Of course, not all the houses are going to protect the pigs from the wolf’s huffing and puffing. Which one will? The wolf, and readers, are in for a clever surprise ending.

The 60+ Additional Best Skyscraper Books

6 Best Skyscraper Book Sources/Lists