The World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid

As a child growing up in Baghdad, Zaha Hadid's (1950-2016) love for math allowed her to see the world through a unique lens; she observed carpet patterns (seeing how the "shapes and colors flow into each other"), dreamed of ancient ruins, and observed nature. Her creative thoughts inspired her to become an architect, and she went on to design extraordinary and unusual structures: "Zaha's designs don't look like other designs. Her buildings swoosh and zoom and flow and fly." Winter quotes Hadid as saying, "The beauty of the landscape--where sand, water, reeds, birds, buildings, and people all somehow flow together--has never left me," and Winter's rich-hued, multilayered illustrations visually unite readers with the spirit of Hadid's architectural creations. A series of spreads shows the artist at work while holding or viewing natural-world or cultural objects, juxtaposed with images of the structures she created that were inspired by those objects, whether suggesting shape, form, or color ("Zaha looks at stones in a stream and builds an opera house like the pebbles in the water"). Once again, Winter (The Librarian of Basra, rev. 1/05; Nasreen's Secret School, rev. 11/09) opens the door for younger children to read about an innovative and strong woman who inspired others in her field and worked tirelessly to make her vision become a reality. Back matter includes a pictorial list of Hadid's structures, sources, and a brief author's note. aishah abdul-musawwir