Tag: Lego Ideas Book

Lego-Adventure-Book-Review

The Lego Adventure Book Review

Lego-Adventure-Book-ReviewWe highlighted the The Lego Adventure Book Vol 1 by Megan Rothrock in an earlier post and thought it looked like an outstanding concept.

So we are very excited that the publishers, No Starch Press have sent us a review copy – now we get to go up close and personal with the book and see if it is as wonderful as we thought it was.

You can read the review below or just take my word for it –
The Lego Adventure Book is worth every cent!

Lego Adventure Book Vol 1 Review

I’m old enough to remember the early days of Dorling Kindersley – when their concept of photographing subjects on uncluttered white pages was a novel thing.

Now of course the style is ubiquitous with the DK brand and sets the standard for Visual Guides on just about any subject, Lego included.

But this unique, clean and austere style comes at a cost. There is something missing from the DK books – personality.

And I understand that austerity does serve certain subjects, well… after a while I begin to yearn for a little personality, some character or narrative.

And  personality is something that Megan’s book displays on every one of its 200 pages.

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The Lego Adventure Book is like mixing the best parts of DK with your favorite all ages comic book.

You get model ideas, dioramas, step by step instructions as well as a comic book style story following Megan around on an adventure, as she learns building secrets from a variety of experts in the field.

Lego-Adventure-Book-Review- Trains

From buildings to cars to castles, trains, planes and even Lego Friends, she learns about a diverse range of models on her travels:

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Building the Idea Lab
Chapter 2: A LEGO Town
Chapter 3: Hot Rods and Cool Rides
Chapter 4: From Below!
Chapter 5: The Sky’s the Limit
Chapter 6: The Turtle Factory
Chapter 7: Starfighters
Chapter 8: Mighty Mecha
Chapter 9: Medieval Village
Chapter 10: Triassic Park
Chapter 11: Making New Friends
Chapter 12: Full Steam Ahead
Chapter 13: Steampunk
Chapter 14: A LEGO Legend

Works Of Art

Lego-Adventure-Book-Review-PlanesOne of my favorite sections was Chapter 5, The Sky’s the Limit. I kept being reminded of the films of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli as I was reading this section.

The propeller-driven planes would look at home in Porco Rosso or Nausicaa – they manage to be unique without being overtly showy – you do believe they could fly.

They just seem to “work”.

And really that is the case when you take the time to look at all of the models in the book, they are all works of art created using diverse Lego pieces and building-techniques .

Some more quirky than others – the turtle-robot factory is a sight to behold 🙂

For Lego Fans Of All Ages

Lego-Adventure-Book-Review-TrailerThe Lego Adventure Book is the kind of book you can just give to Lego fans of any age and watch as they (depending on their age) absorb the visual information by osmosis, read through the story and be inspired to build similar models or methodically follow each instruction to re-create the models on display.

But for parents, one of the best ways to get the most out of the book is to share in making a model with children.

Some techniques are unusual and won’t have been utilised in pre-packaged Lego sets…and that is a great thing!

For kids to know they can attach minifigure legs to the front of a mining drill is a real revelation. Just how they do that is another thing. Engaged parents can help with these sorts of micro-contruction methods.

In short The Lego Adventure Book is an asset for Lego fans and builders of any age.

Older fans will reap the true gems included in its pages but younger fans will enjoy the comic nature of the narrative and be inspired by the unique and complex models.

Where To Purchase The Book

You can go to your usual haunts to buy the book but if you buy the hard copy directly from the publishers you receive a free PDF version which is a wonderful gesture and I wish all publishers offerred this option.

Otherwise:

The Lego Adventure Book Vol 1 Image Gallery

Thanks to No Starch Press for the review copy of The Lego Adventure Book and to Megan Rothrock for taking the time to make such a wonderful resource.

We look forward to The Lego Adventure Book Vol 2 and the further adventures of Megs 🙂

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The Lego Adventure Book – Images, Instructions & More

The Lego Adventure Book by Megan Rothrock, a former set designer for Lego, is a beautiful book that is a cross between an instruction book, a story book and a comic book – A perfect pitch for kids who love Lego, love building and love reading.

Kids are instantly drawn to books like this. The images are bright and vibrant, and there are heaps of them! When you add extras like the hundreds of ideas and instructions included as part of the story, you create a purchase that will earn it’s initial cost over and over again.

The book clearly reminds me of Lego Idea books I had as a child – here is an 1980’s sample, inexpensive magazine style books that told a story of a couple building a home then setting off to the moon (as you do) through building instructions and original design ideas with basic Lego pieces. Megan has just taken that idea and amped it up. Stickers would have been an awesome addition but I guess we always have Brickstix 🙂

The Lego Adventure Book is a double bonus for parents because in addition to occupying them for hours (more like weeks!), the book welcomes kids who struggle with reading. The comic book format provides a wonderful way for them to engage with books without becoming overwhelmed by large tracts of prose. Kids can read at their own pace but also keep up with the story via the images and word balloons (one of the many reasons my house is full of comics).

To be honest the best way to explain The Lego Adventure Book to you is via pictures. The publishers and staff at No Starch Press were kind enough to send us some (thanks guys!).

The Lego Adventure Book is 208 page hardcover, will be released on November 9, 2012 and is now available for Preorder :

The Lego Adventure Book Image Gallery

The Lego Adventure Book – Description

The LEGO Adventure Book is a heavily-illustrated, colorful book of LEGO ideas and building guides for fans at almost any age.

Chock-full of inspiration, model ideas, and (of course!) building instructions, the book guides you through many exciting LEGO theme worlds, like outer-space, medieval times, the wild west, and Roman cities.

Each stop along the way showcases incredible builds by well-known members of the LEGO community and includes photographic step-by-step building instructions for automobiles, spaceships, castles, and more.

Megan Rothrock is a former set designer for the LEGO Group. Her models have been displayed at LEGO events across Europe and have been featured at the San Diego Comic-Con. Rothrock enjoys attending LEGO fan events and meeting fans. Her greatest wish is to inspire the LEGO Builders of tomorrow. She works as a freelance toy designer and currently lives in Denmark.

Connect with Megs on Facebook.

The Lego Adventure Book is 208 page hardcover, will be released on November 9, 2012 and is now available for Preorder :