The Glass Pyramid by Jeanne Walker Harvey & Khoa Le

subtitled A Story of the Louvre Museum and Architect I.M. Pei.

I had no idea that the glass pyramid of the Louvre was only built in 1989! For some reason, I thought it was far more modern, tho perhaps I just wasn’t paying much attention at the time. After all, I’d visited the Louvre a mere handful of years prior and had been, to my own surprise, thoroughly bored by it all. Paris was nasty back then, and while the crowds weren’t too overwhelming, I was singularly unimpressed by the Mona Lisa. Forgive me, I was only eight years old: my tastes in art hadn’t yet developed, tho my appreciation for useable urban spaces was clearly already well defined (plus also I was in love with the Nike of Samothrace and Gericault’s The Raft Of The Medusa, both significantly louder pieces that stood up to the crowds better than da Vinci’s smaller, more subtle portrait of the Gioconda.)

And in keeping with my still-developing tastes, I wasn’t much impressed with I M Pei’s glass pyramid when I first heard of it. Like many others, I found it incongruous that such a modern interpretation of an ancient monument should be plonked front and center of such an iconic building. Certainly tho, I was never as stridently opposed to the project as some, so found this children’s picture book on the subject extremely enlightening on the entire concept and controversy.

Back in the 1980s, the then French President Francois Mitterand hired Mr Pei to solve a problem with the Louvre. The entrance was crowded and confusing, and there wasn’t enough space for storage, restoration or visitor services. Somewhat undemocratically, President Mitterand decided to keep Mr Pei’s hiring a secret until the renowned architect was ready to unveil his plans for the rejuvenation of the Louvre. As you can expect, the grand reveal went about as poorly as expected.

President Mitterand had expected a certain amount of xenophobia from his fellow citizens, and that was certainly present in the outraged response to the unveiling. But even the French people without any criticisms of Mr Pei on the spurious bases of being Chinese and/or American were nonplussed by the seemingly dissonant design. Mr Pei had to go on a charm offensive to explain what he envisioned and why, accepting numerous requests for TV and newspaper interviews in order to sell the French public on the pyramids (as the larger structure is flanked by two smaller versions.) Eventually, the public came around, tho there were still obstacles in the way before the Glass Pyramid — an extraordinary blend of form and function — could become the iconic landmark that it is today.

This slender but informative illustrated volume conveys this story perfectly, talking about Mr Pei’s influences throughout his journey to building the pyramid, as well as the challenges he faced in fulfilling his remit to, essentially, serve the French nation in enhancing one of their most beloved monuments. While I hadn’t understood the pyramid before this book, I totally did by the end. Some of the metaphors are overworked — and I don’t understand why no one aside from Mr Pei himself is named in the proceedings — but this is overall a well-written, accessible account of the pyramid’s design, controversy and construction.

Khoa Le’s art moves nimbly from the sleek lines of modernist architecture to the mishmash of the Louvre Palace’s classical styles to the serene nature of Buddhist retreats in China. I particularly enjoyed how the real-world figures were almost immediately recognizable. Most impressive was the use of color to indicate plans and designs before they became reality: the two-page spread with Mr Pei envisioning a multiplicity of pathways for the entrance was particularly striking.

I came out of this book with a greater understanding of and appreciation for not only the controversial Glass Pyramid but also its creator. This is a really good way to learn about both, no matter what age you may be.

The Glass Pyramid by Jeanne Walker Harvey & Khoa Le was published May 27 2025 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers and is available from all good booksellers, including