Architecture
Ching, Frank Architectural Graphics, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, New York, 2nd edition. 1985
This book is a good reference on architectural drawings.
Mainstone, Rowland J., Structure in Architecture: History, Design, and Innovation, Ashgate, Brookfield, VT, 1999
This book is an interesting reference. Parts of it are useful in leading students through the design phases of this project.
McAlester, Virginia and Lee, A field Guide to American Houses, Alfred A Knopf, New York, New York, 2002
This book has a very nice pictorial key for students who struggled with drawing pieces of buildings that they liked. It is also a good source of pictures of houses.
Speicher, J, et al, Reader's Digest Home Improvements Manual, The Reader's Digest Association, inc., Pleasantville, New York, 1982
This book is a somewhat unorthodox choice, but the descriptions of various housing styles at the beginning are very well done. This is also a good reference for researching joinery techniques.
Tzonis, Alexander, Santiago Calatrava: The Poetics of Movement, Universe Publishing, New York, New York, 1999
This is an inspiring book containing beautiful pictures and enlightening descriptions of Santiago Calatrava's work.
Engineering
Engel, Heino, Structure Systems, Deutche Verglas-Anstalt GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany, 1967
This is a good book, but it is difficult to find.
Gordon, J.E., Structures: or Why Things Don't Fall Down, Penguin Books, Ltd, London, 1978
This is a wonderful book, written in easily accessible language.
Levy, Matthys and Salvadori, Mario, Why Buildings Fall Down: how structures fail, WW Norton & Co., New York, New York, 1982
This is a good book to read before doing the experiments in this unit. It goes through the causes of structural failure for many interesting structures.
Salvadori, Mario, Why Buildings Stand Up: the Strength of Architecture, WW Norton & Co., New York, New York, 2002
This book is similar to Gordon's book, but it contains more diagrams and gives concrete examples of the concepts as they are applied in actual buildings.
Salvadori, Mario, The Art of Construction: projects and principles for beginning engineers and architects, Chicago Review Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1990
This book is an excellent resource for teachers. It gives lots of good examples and suggests simple, inexpensive projects and experiments.
Watson, Donald, Crosbie, M., Time-saver Standards for Architectural Design Data, McGraw-Hill, New York, Eighth Edition, 2005
This is a good reference book
Zalewski, Waclaw and Allen Edward, Shaping Structures: Statics, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, New York, 1998
Gingerbread
Cargas, Nonnie, Gingerbread Houses: Baking and building memories, Krause Publications, Iola, WI, 1999
This is a very well written book. It has descriptive photographs and a very tasty recipe for gingerbread. My only criticism is that the gingerbread is a bit softer than I would like for building a house; however, the gingerbread may be better if it bakes a bit longer than mine did.
Currie, Christa, Gingerbread Houses: a complete guide to baking building and decorating, Doubleday, New York, New York, 1992
This is a good book as a starter book. It is easy to read and goes through the process well.
Layman, Theresa, Gingerbread for all seasons, Abradale Press, New York, New York, 1997
This book has a recipe for a very durable gingerbread. It is a slightly more advanced book than some of the others listed, but it will still be accessible to most readers.
Morgan, Aaron, Gilchrist, P. Making Great Gingerbread Houses: delicious designs from cabins to castles, from lighthouses to tree houses, Lark Books, New York, New York, 1999
This book is full of beautifully designed gingerbread houses. It is a wonderful book for ideas and it comes with templates for all of it designs.
Perry, Sara, Great Gingerbread, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, California, 1997
This book takes a general approach to the gingerbread flavor, including such things as gingerbread waffles and gingerbread cakes. It does a have a few ideas gingerbread houses and might be good for enrichment activities, particularly in a cooking class.
Rogers, Juliet, Chief Executive, The Essential Guide to Cake Decorating, Murdoch Books Pty Limited, Sydney Australia, 2005
As the title indicates, this book is intended for cake decorating; however, most of the techniques used to decorate cakes are also useful in decorating gingerbread houses. This is a more advanced book, but it includes many useful tips and tricks.