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You will find the book Cathedral by David Macaulay in the children’s section of your library or bookstore. Technically, it is indeed a book for kids. So why did we decide to put Cathedral on Aleteia’s 2024 Summer Book List for Teens?
Well, first of all, Cathedralis simply gorgeous, stunning, and one of the landmarks of book publishing in the past 50 years. David Macaulay took the concept of the picture book and turned it into a work of art.
Telling the story of a cathedral that never existed
Then there is the fact that David Macaulay chose a fascinating topic, the building of a medieval cathedral, which he presents in a compelling and dramatic way. Instead of writing about the construction of Chartres or Notre Dame, however, Macaulay cleverly invented his own medieval town. In the book, the people of his non-existent French town of Chutreaux set out to build a magnificent cathedral that exists only on the page and in our imaginations.
This choice allows Macaulay to synthesize all the most typical features of medieval cathedrals into an ideal model. It also means that he can incorporate everything that is known about how various cathedrals were built into a single, unbroken narrative.
As David Macaulay himself explained in his preface:
The cathedral of Chutreaux is imaginary, but the method of its construction corresponds closely to the actual construction of a Gothic cathedral. The story of its almost uninterrupted construction, however, represents a somewhat ideal situation. For owing to either financial or structural problems or both, the completion of many such undertakings was delayed for as long as two hundred years.
A mesmerizing process
Macaulay proceeds to show each stage of the building process step-by-step: from the laying of the enormous foundation to the raising of Chutreaux Cathedral’s dizzying towers to the placement of it massive stained-glass windows. The detailed illustrations of these events are technically precise, narratively rich — and completely mesmerizing. That quality reflects the spell that the cathedral builders had cast on Macaulay’s own imagination. As he went on to explain:
Although the people of Chutreaux are imaginary, their single-mindedness, their spirit, and their incredible courage are typical of the people of the twelfth-, thirteenth-, and fourteenth-century Europe whose magnificent dreams still stand today.
“Building the Book Cathedral”
If you still have reservations about suggesting a “children’s” book to your teenagers, then you might instead consider a follow-up book Macaulay wrote 10 years later. Building the Book Cathedral contains all the content of the original book along with detailed explanations of how the original book was itself constructed. It is definitely geared toward an older crowd and may be a more acceptable entry point for some teens. Artistic types and budding writers will especially love it.
Our final reason for recommending Cathedral is that it is a book your whole family can enjoy together. Your youngest kids will be drawn into the illustrations and want to know what is happening. You and your teens, having read the text, will be able to explain and answer (most) of your little ones’ questions.
Further resources
For those readers who love history or science, we also recommend Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel as a perfect companion read. Hopefully, David Macaulay will have already convinced you that the so-called Dark Ages were not so dark after all, but Frances and Joseph Gies’ book will certainly seal the argument. Their book makes the case that the technological marvels of today have their origins in the ancient world and that the Middle Ages, far from marking the collapse of civilization, played a vital role in advancing science and technology.
Many years after the book’s release, Macaulay worked with PBS to produce a one-hour documentary also called Cathedral. Though animated and narrated with skill, it is not nearly as immersive or magical as the original book. Still, it’s worth a watch.
And today we celebrate...