Lego bricks have certainly come a long way from their introduction as children’s toys in the early 1950s in Denmark to the franchise it is today in toys, video games, movies, and art. This week’s Port Pick focuses on Lego more as an art form in Brick History: Amazing historical scenes to build from Lego by Warren Elsmore.
Starting with dinosaurs and ending with historic events as recent as the royal wedding of Princess Kate and Prince William, brick history can be viewed as simply a visual Lego journey through the major points in human history. However, this author has included sample models to build throughout the book, starting with a model lifeboat from the Titanic scene later in the book. Although Legos are traditionally seen as a kid’s toy this book is clearly aimed at the adult builder who may have an extensive collection of bricks to choose from. Fold out posters at the front and back of the book also provide a more detailed look at a scene from the Boston Tea Party and the Moon Landing, both in brick style. An introduction covers how the author chose each historic scene, how to best photograph your own Lego scenes, model building “cheats” to get your scenes to look correct, and even a page on techniques for cleaning older bricks for reuse today.
This will be shelved in the adult’s non-fiction section where you can also find Brick Wonders and Brick Vehicles by the same author. Brick Wonders covers architectural and natural wonders from around the world recreated in Lego, while Brick Vehicles covers models of all modes of transport whether on land, in the air, or in the water. The only book in this series not currently at the Port Library is Brick City, which can be requested through interlibrary loan if you find yourself a fan of your world rendered in Lego.
You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit.