This book is an inspiring story of the woman named Julia Morgan who became the first woman architect ever. She was the spear head for women being able to become architect. It follows her struggles, journey, and accomplishments.

Born in 1872, when few women had careers, Julia was influenced by her engineer father and her cousin, Pierre LeBrun, an architect in New York. She always loved to build, loved math and wanted to know how things fit together like a puzzle. Julia persisted and eventually was the first woman accepted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris to study architecture. After six years in Paris and receiving her degree in architecture, Julia returned to San Francisco. Her buildings survived even the enormous earthquake in 1906 which gave her the credibility she needed to build her reputation. Her most famous client was William Randolph Hearst, the powerful newspaper publisher. He hired her to design his ocean-front get-a-way just above the village of San Simeon, California. The project ended up being a castle which took twenty-eight years to complete. San Simeon had a main house of 60,645 sq. ft., three guest houses, 128 acres of gardens, a private zoo and a massive 345,000-gallong pool. Presidents and famous people from all over the world stayed there. This was such a tribute to a young woman who devoted herself to the work she loved and left a beautiful legacy for us to enjoy. My family visited the castle on a trip to California, but I never paid enough attention to the woman who was responsible for its building.

Extensions for the class could be to start with some building with sand like Julia did. What could we come up with?
Another study would be to look at the massive earthquake and what made Julia's designs different from others and gave them the strength to withstand the shake. ( )

This book tells the story of female architect who chases her dreams of being a successful architect. Morgan breaks barriers and accomplishes her dreams despite what others may have thought during the time. The book tells of her childhood and discusses many of her works.

"Julia Morgan liked to build."...this understated declaration is the first sentence of this biography of famous California architect Julia Morgan. Mannis does a good job describing this remarkable woman who became California's first female licensed architect. Mannis' description of Morgan's struggle to overcome the sexism of the late 1800's and early 1900's reads like fiction. After being denied three times, she was finally admitted to the renowned Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Once again, a first for a woman. The second part of this book focuses on Morgan's work on William Randolph Hearst's San Simeon Castle. This makes sense since Morgan spent more than half of her long career building this edifice. Illustrator Miles Hyman's pastel drawings are soft and lush. It's almost as if Hyman is standing next to Morgan when she is looking over the city of Paris at sunset. Perhaps Hyman really was there in spirit, since he too studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts! One small complaint about this book deals with word usage. Mannis describes the Eiffel tower as "infamous". Perhaps "famous" would have been a better word to use. If the tower really was considered "infamous" at the time, it would be great for readers to know why. "Julia Morgan Built a Castle" will be a great addition to my California Facts and Symbols book collection. ( )

Set in the late 1800s, Julia is a gifted child who fought against discrimination of women to become a successful architect; she was the first woman to study at Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The prose itself is poignant without being overbearing; vivid imagery and description are used to immerse the reader in Julia’s plight. The adjoining illustrations reinforce the text by displaying important parts of the narrative (Julia working, Julia graduating college). These illustrations are rich in color and detail. ( )