Architectural historian Hill demystifies Miami Beach’s art deco–style buildings in her fifth book for children.

Hill uses a simple rhyming text and full-page color photos to draw young readers into an exceptionally authoritative and engaging picture book that begins: “In Miami Beach, buildings have a special flair. / Colors, lines, and shapes are the elements they share.” The book goes on to show and describe elements seen on 16 buildings in that seaside Florida city. Buildings, for example, are often painted “cotton candy” colors like pink and blue or have protruding sun shades known as “eyebrows” above windows. They may also make use of glass blocks, wave or fountain motifs, or “shiny metal railings.” At the end of the book, an interactive element reminds children of architectural details they’ve seen and encourages them to go back to the pictures of buildings and see how many they can find. The backmatter also includes a list of the featured structures and their addresses, which could help families create a self-guided tour. This book might have benefited from an extra page showing a few art deco buildings that children may already be familiar with in other cities—especially the Empire State Building—but it is so rich in information, clearly and attractively presented, that it succeeds handsomely on its own terms.

An unusually appealing and child-friendly introduction to art deco architecture in one Florida city.