"Quick. What duck doesn't go `Quack'? A `duck' that's a commercial building whose form echoes its product. Any reader whose community boasts one of these edifices of civic pride or
derision---from a barrel-shaped root-beer stand to the basket-shaped Longaberger Company headquarters---will want to grab a copy of this tribute to U.S. mimetic architecture that examines the
brazen advertising potential of ducks and the more oblique, but equally zany, character of such roadside glories as wigwam cabin motels and pagoda-styled gas stations. Lots of period and
contemporary photographs, . . . elevations and floorplans, and postcards provide a nearly irresistible visual draw, while the text traces the relationship between the style's development and
the burgeoning road/highway system,. . . . Sidebars offer data on size, date, materials, location, and national historical status."---Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"This eye-catching book features buildings `disguised' in other forms, from 65-foot-tall Lucy the Margate Elephant, a National Historic Landmark,. . . to the original White Castle hamburger
outlet, a tiny building with turreted and crenellated walls. The many illustrations include reproductions of period photographs, prints, and postcards as well as more recent photos of the
sites."---Booklist
"This book is a lot of fun to look at, and it's just as much fun to read."---Kirkus Reviews
"An entertaining look at examples of mimetic architecture. . . . The index adds usefulness for geography and history reports, but this is primarily a fun browsing title that reveals the
vitality and spirit of inventive architecture."---School Library Journal
