If I Had a Hammer
This article originally appeared in SLJ’s Extra Helping. Sign up now!
-- School Library Journal, 7/16/2008 9:04:00 AM
Many kids just love the whole building process–banging nails into a 2 x 4 or making a birdhouse can give them a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Want to focus that energy into something to help your community or school? Check out these opportunities from the National Garden Association and Home Depot.
FLEMING, Denise. Alphabet Under Construction. illus. by author. Holt. 2002. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8050-6848-1; pap. $7.95. ISBN 978-0-8050-8112-1.
PreS-Gr 1–A hardworking mouse constructs each letter of the alphabet, icing the I, nailing the N, and welding the W. Fleming’s distinctive cotton fiber and hand-cut stencil illustrations are fun and engaging, and the text provides strong action verbs for young language learners. Use this to launch a “build your own alphabet” classroom project.
NEVIUS, Carol. Building with Dad. illus. by Bill Thomson. Marshall Cavendish. 2006. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7614-5312-3.
PreS-Gr 3–At first vertigo-inducing, this book is an awesome show-aloud. Thomson’s acrylic and colored-pencil illustrations, detailed to the nth degree, are astounding. As the new neighborhood school is built from the ground up, the son of the contractor gathers his sense of place and purpose. The ending, where the boy is seen putting a nameplate on the entrance of the new building, provides a discussion prompt.
SUEN, Anastasia. Raise the Roof! illus. by Elwood H. Smith. Viking. 2003. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-670-89282-2.
PreS-K–A man and a woman and their dog build a house from scratch in this humorously detailed story. Smith’s illustrations are a perfect match for Suen’s brief text–while the couple work on blueprints, their canine pal is busy reviewing plans for a doghouse. Children will have a greater appreciation for all the work that goes into building a house after seeing this book.
STURGES, Philemon. I Love Tools! illus. by Shari Halpern. HarperCollins. 2006. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-06-009287-0; PLB $14.89. ISBN 978-0-06-009288-7.
PreS-Gr 1–A family works together to create a home for a friendly bluebird. Halpern’s simple illustrations clearly show how each tool is used, while Sturges’s text adds sensory depth–the smell of sawdust, the sound of a hammer pounding, the smoothness created by sanding. Want to build a birdhouse too? Click here for directions.
Remarkable Reads are produced by the editors at NoveList, the leader in readers' advisory electronic resources. For more information, visit NoveList.
