...about the unusual shape of the stairs in Night School?

In the story Night School, Eddie and his friends are sent to the principal’s office at the very top of the school.

I wanted to draw a picture in which you could see where they’d been and where they were going, both views at the same time. Most stairways wouldn’t work for this.

In a library book on ancient architecture, I found this arrangement of steps. They were made from large slabs of stone shaped like keyholes. They connected them as in the diagram above.

There’s a really interesting reason why they made the stairs this way: it has to do with enemies. Look them up at www.castles-of-britain.com/castlezi.htm.

Castle construction is fascinating. Back then, they didn’t have the building equipment we use today. Can you imagine a donkey-powered bulldozer? How did they do it?

One way to find out is in the book Castle, by David Macauley, Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0395257840. Your library probably has other books about designing and building castles.