Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part One. Modernity -- Building for the future - Children as future citizens in Swedish Picturebooks of the 1930s / Elina Druker -- A Modern Utopia: Architecture, Modernity and Ladybird Books in postwar Britain / Torsten Schmiedeknecht and Jill Rudd -- Reading as Building: Modernist Architecture and Book Space in Picturebooks / Honglan Huang -- Representations of modern architecture and urbanism in Colombian children's literature from the mid-20th century onwards / Carolina Rodriguez, Roberto Londoño, Antonio Manrique -- Part Two. Domestic Space -- Domestic Architecture and Environmental Design in Australian Picture Books / John Stephens -- The house, where everything begins / Christophe Meunier -- Architecture and Interior Design in Italian Picturebooks : A case study of Bruno Munari / Marnie Campagnaro -- Representations of architecture in children's picture books in Australia, Singapore and China / Sabine Tan, Xinchao Zhai, Lyndon Way and Kay L. O'Halloran -- Building Diversity in British and American Children's Picturebooks (2000-present) / Emma Hayward -- Part Three. Urban Space -- Highly Modern Ideal Homestead / Lucie Glasheen -- Architecture and Magic: Mapping the London of Children's Fantasy Fiction / Madison McLeod -- Ordinary cityscapes and architecture in Jörg Müller's picturebook oeuvre / Jörg Meibauer.

"Children are the future architects, clients and users of our buildings. The kinds of architectural worlds they are exposed to in picture books during their formative years may be assumed to influence how they regard such architecture as adults. Contemporary urban environments the world over represent the various stages of modernism in architecture. This book reads that history through picturebooks and considers the kinds of national identities and histories they construct. 12 specialist essays from international scholars address questions such as: Is modern architecture used to construct specific narratives of childhood? Is it taken to support 'negative' narratives of alienation, on the one hand, and 'positive' narratives of happiness, on the other? Do images of modern architecture support ideas of 'community'? reinforce 'family values'? If so, what kinds of architecture, community and family? How is modern architecture placed vis-à-vis the promotion of diversity (ethnic, religious, gender etc.)? How might the use of architecture in comic strips or the presence of specific kinds of building in fiction aimed at younger adults be related to the groundwork laid in picturebooks for younger readers? This book reveals what stories are told about modern architecture and shows how those stories affect future attitudes towards and expectations of the built environment"-- Provided by publisher.