Lego Books

My little LEGO enthusiast (who now has a most difficult time leaving his room as that would mean parting with his LEGOs) is a big fan of the following books, both published by No Starch Press. If you are looking for a more unique gift for the LEGO lover in your life, but don't necessarily want to add to their Tiny Pieces Collection, then you might want to consider one of these titles.

The LEGO Adventure Book, Vol. 2 provides even more ideas for the young LEGO builder to copy. Just as is the case for Vol. 1, there are roughly 100 models contained in this book with "brick-by-brick" instructions. While there is no guarantee that the reader of this book will have all of the parts contained within these pages and used for constructing this particular models, the building concepts will serve them well. The reader can substitute their own pieces (when possible) or be encouraged to develop their own imaginations and build their own models.

The main themes in this book are spaceships, pirates and dragons. There are quite a few vehicles and one really cool looking ferry. Your guide throughout the book is LEGO woman Megs (the LEGO persona of the author of this book, Megan H. Rothrock. (You can view her LEGO creations HERE.) Rothrock seems to be having a great time building LEGOs, playing with them and sharing her love with others and it shows in this book. (Be sure to check out her model The Tragon which is in her flickr account. Amazing!)

The LEGO Adventure Book, Vol. 2 is full of good guys and bad guys, castle towers and tudor houses and every so much more. Instructions for building are laid out in a numbered manner much like you'd find in a LEGO instruction booklet. Definitely a title worth checking out! My son absolutely loves this book!

Secondly, Bookworm1 has had a blast looking at LEGO Space: Building the Future. This title is hot off the presses and great for anyone LEGO fan who is interested in space travel. This title should not be limited to fans of Star Wars or Star Trek (the book features neither). It spans a galaxy (pa dum pum PSSSHH) of interests. I love the fact that it opens with a history of space travel, illustrated with LEGO models. Crack open the book and before you delve into LEGO space models you'll be given a history of space travel, beginning in 1957 when Soviet scientists launched Sputnik. You then learn of the American response to the Sputnik and about the space race. Accompanied with each paragraph of information is, of course, a LEGO model. (My personal favorite is the Neil Armstrong's LEGO footprint on the moon.)

The book eventually transitions from fact to fiction. The transition occurs post-2012 when the mars rover landed. From there the book jumps to possibilities in 2069 on. Federations. Settlements on the Moon. That sort of thing. Lots of "what ifs?" dreamed up with LEGO models. The majority of the book is a fictional, futuristic tale of life in space. A story accompanies both photographs of models as well as design instructions for making the spaceships and vehicles for yourself. As I mentioned, it is not about Star Wars or Star Trek, a fact that I rather appreciate. I don't really want to focus so much on those particular stories but would rather my son create models using his own imagination instead of borrowing the already-imagined-thoughts of others.

Personally I think this is a fantastic and inventive title. I can't really say what my son thinks of it but I can tell you that he's been pouring over this book since it arrived at our house. I guess that speaks for itself.

Many thanks to No Starch Press for sending the top two titles my direction in order to facilitate this review. I have received no additional compensation for this review and all of my opinions are 100% my own.

Other LEGO books you might wish to consider this holiday season (linked to earlier reviews):

• The Lego Adventure Book: Vol. 1
• Beautiful LEGO