What Can a Crane Pick Up? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

What Can a Crane Pick Up? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrated by Mike Lowry

Rating: 4 stars

This is a book that shows and tells all the stuff a crane can pick up.  With simple verse and bright, fun illustrations, each page shows how much or how little one of these working vehicles can lift.

That is all.

And you know what?  I love that Kiefer loves the book so much.  Every time he sees it on the new book shelf, he grabs it and puts it in our library bag.  Sometimes his grabbing is accompanied with a serious statement delivered in sweet, child-like tones: "I really luff dis book."

Can a crane pick up a crane?
It could!

Simple pleasures. Seeing one of your favorite books on a shelf at the library and getting excited that it's your turn to check it out.

May those simple pleasures last in him, may they inspire us.

And you know what? That is all.

Alphabet Trucks by Samantha R. Vamos

Alphabet Trucks by Samantha R. Vamos, illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke

Rating: 4 stars

So far we've had heaps of luck with the 2014 Children's Choices Award-Winning Books.  The books on this list we've printed out guided our book lending last week.  These books were selected by kids and for kids--with the goal of encouraging kids to read more for pleasure.  These kids were spot-on.  There are some really great books on the list!

Including Alphabet Trucks, a compact little read that I've read half a dozen times to Kiefer already, and we've only had it a few days.  At three, the alphabet--recognizing the letters and learning the sounds they make--is exactly where he needs to be.  Nothing makes him happier than riding in his dad's old Chevy pick-up truck (if only it were orange!), but a book about trucks--with a pick-up truck on the cover--comes pretty close.

The rhymes (the fact that it rhymes at this age is a wonderful thing!) are a solid good:

E is for elevator truck,
Raise the forklift--up it goes!

A is for apple truck, carting produce to the store.

F is for fuel truck,
with a meter, pump, and hose.
G is for grapple truck,
And its grabby, massive claw.
H is for horse truck,
Full of water, feed, and straw.

As you can see, there's not a lot of information on each truck, just a brief introduction and a great illustration by Ryan O'Rourke.  In each picture, he's sprinkled in a bunch of those letters--Kiefer particularly likes how the Ms are sliding down the chute of the Mixing Truck. I like how the Junk Truck is hauling off a whole lot of Js to the dump.

But my favorite is the zipper truck.  Because I know what that is!  And I knew it when we first read it, promise.  I am NOT the know-it-all in the house, so I am rarely the one who has The Answer.  But this time I did!  (Enter triumphant ha-HA! here)  Years ago I saw a zipper truck, also known as a Barrier-Transfer Machine, do its thing as I drove into Washington, D.C.  I thought it was cool back then, and I didn't yet have boys who would verify its coolness for me. I told the kids about it.  I did my best to explain how it moved barriers to accommodate the different rush hour traffic needs on a single road, but this video helped them truly understand:

There you go!  One good book and one cool video to explain the car that exemplifies Z!

Digger and Tom by Sebastien Braun

Digger and Tom by Sebastien Braun

Rating: 5 stars

Separately, I tell Lorelei, Ben and Kiefer that they have a special superpower with each other: the power of encouragement.  While a "You can do it!" from Mommy or Daddy is great and sometimes can't be beat, a "You can do it!" from your sibling (especially, in Lorelei and Ben's case, an older sibling), is pretty awesome in its own way.  What grown younger sibling doesn't still crave an encouraging "You can do it!" from their older brother or sister?!

Oh, wait.  Shoot.  Am I the only one?  Hmm...

Anyway, Digger and Tom by Sebastien Braun provides just the right context for helping your child understand how wonderful it is to say "You can do it!" to somebody else.  We've all got to be so darn self-motivated in the world; it's nice for some help some days.

Digger is a little digger, the littlest construction vehicle on the lot.  He and Tom, a dump truck, work together to move dirt and rubble and other stuff.  While clearing the construction site at the end of the day, Tom notices one stubborn rock sticking out from the ground.  Tom leaves it in Digger's small but capable bucket.

Digger hops to it, but the rock is just too big.  It is just too stuck.  The other bigger vehicles move in and push Digger aside, maneuvering their bigger and more capable bodies in front.  They each have a turn with the rock, but no one can get it unstuck.  Those big vehicles decide to take a break.

While they're catching their breath, Tom whispers to Digger: "Why don't you have another try? You're a digger.  Digging's what you do best!"

So he gives it another try.  And he gets it unstuck! He is tired but proud, and thanks Tom: "Thank you for believing in me."

I LOVE this sweet book.  There are two other books by the prolific children's book author Sebastien Braun that emphasize team work and encouragement towards smaller-than-most vehicles (older Toot and Pop and newer Whoosh and Tug), but this one is our favorite.

Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail by James Horvath

Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail by James Horvath

Rating: 4 stars

As I stated in my last post, it's not good when I read a book the day it's due.  But it is a great sign when I read a book to one of my kids before we even check it out at the library.  That is a sign that I'll be reading the book at least twice a day for the next week straight. And that means I've got a book that really appeals to kids.  Hooray!

With Build, Dogs, Build in the house, I know what I'll be reading when I ask Kiefer to go choose a book.  He is crazy about construction right now, so the very fact that one of the dogs on the cover is holding a wrench makes him go ga-ga (even though, at three, he's really past saying "ga-ga"). Horvath wrote a story and created illustrations with kids like Kiefer in mind: the story is cute and about building a tall structure, it rhymes in a pleasing sort of way, the illustrations are bright and colorful and inviting, and he's got silly stuff mixed in with true facts.

It's like he's Duke the foreman, one of the characters in his book, double-checking the plan on How to Create a Successful Children's Book!

The beams go up fast, / building room upon room.
As the pumper pumps / liquid cement through its boom.

My kids were swept into the book in the first few pages, when they chose which dog they wanted to be, and on each subsequent page they found "themselves" and tried to figure out what they were doing.  Meanwhile, I read stanzas like:

Here's the tall building,
all crumbled and cracked.
We'll knock it down quickly
with a couple of whacks. 

The crane is in place.
The angle's correct.
Get the ball swinging now.
Wreck, dogs, wreck!

We loved it, and later today we'll check out the book Horvath wrote before Build, Dogs, Build, its prequel: Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail.  You now know what I'll be reading twice a day for the next few weeks!

Wait a second…this just in!...there's another due out at the beginning of fall 2014?!  Work, Dogs, Work: A Highway Tail?!  Kiefer is now counting down the days for it to be published...

Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper

Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper

Rating: 4 stars

Anthropomorphic.  Remember that word from your school days?  That's what you call it when you attribute human qualities to anything that's not a human.  We see this all the time in children's books with animals and trucks and maybe even clouds.

But…the colors within a traffic light?  I'm impressed with Harper's imagination!

In this story "Little Green," the green circle from a traffic light, utters his first word: "Go."  (It's also his only word.)  He whispers it, he states it, he yells it as loud as he can.  And he rolls along to a construction site just as all the vehicles are waking up from their afternoon nap.  Armed with his new word, Little Green charges them with action!

"Tow truck towed terrifically.  Crane carried carefully.  Mixer mixed marvelously. Dump Truck dumped dependably.  And Backhoe waved his long arms in the air."  All is good!

But then…too much GO and not enough of anything else got all the trucks into a mixed-up, over-worked jumble.

Luckily, a stranger rolls into town.  Little Red looks around and shouts the only word he knew: "STOP!" After a little bit of trial and error, Little Green and Little Red manage the construction site by working together and taking turns.  They get some help from Little Yellow, who arrives as soon as the construction site's work--a new bridge--is completed.  Perfect timing for Little Yellow's words: "Slow down!"

(Not "Go Faster!" as I first taught Lorelei years and years ago, just to crack myself up…!)

This is a super cute book for young kids who are just beginning to recognize that words mean something.  And even better for young kids whose older siblings read but…they don't yet.  Like Kiefer!  He can, at three, see these big, bright, red STOPs and big, bright, green GOs and "read" them.  And that makes him feel good, practice a bit, and then get curious for more.

If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen

If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen

Rating: 5 stars

We are huge fans of Maine author Chris Van Dusen.  His three Magee books get checked out (literally) a whole lot.  His If I Built A Car book is read whenever one of my three kids spots it around the house.  Could Van Dusen really write another book that is just as wonderful as these four?

Yes.  Yes, he can!  And (much to our delight) yes he DID!  (Did you hear my kids and I just go crazy with applause and cheering?)

The race track room is (not surprisingly) my boys' favorite room.

This time, the boy/narrator plays in his backyard and starts designing a creative structure with the Legos, sticks, Tinkertoys, and Frisbee that are within reach.  He begins to tell his mom that their house is okay, but if he built a house, he'd do it a whole lot differently.

The rooms he thinks up are the stuff of kids' wildest dreams: a tall, tall room with a button that takes away gravity and allows you to fly, a bedroom similar to the Space Needle that has an elevator to get you up and a twisty, turny slide to get you down, a living room that includes built-in trampolines on the floor that guide you to a pit with oodles of soft balls.

Playdate at this kid's house, please!

But all of those rooms come after the kitchen, which interests me very much:

We'll start with the basics, right off the bat
Check out my all-in-one Kitchen-O-Mat!
You don't have to cook and you don't have to clean
It's done by a space-age robotic machine
It makes all the meals and the food is deee-lish!
Then it washes and puts away every last dish.

If I Built a House is, I think, a bigger hit than If I Built A Car for the simple reason that smaller kids can design non-moving, house-like structures more easily than they can create vehicles that must move.  Whenever we read it, the kids' next move is to grab blocks or Legos, Tinkertoys or Play-doh, or simply just paper and pencil and think up the house of their very own.

Once again Chris Van Dusen has created magic with this magically creative book!

Tools Rule! by Aaron Meshon

Tools Rule! by Aaron Meshon

Rating: 5 stars

Please don't tell him, but I got this book for Kiefer for his third birthday.  As of this blurry-eyed, early-morning typing, that's 19 days away.  I got it early so I could read it and tell you all about it.  I'll give it to him once I've dog-eared my favorite pages, underlined my favorite passages, and shared it with friends and strangers…  Ah, the joys of being a third child!

In Tools Rule! I was excited to see:

1. A book on tools!  They are hard to find.  In fact, I can only think of two others that I've found over the years: I Love Tools! by Philemon Sturges and Tools by Taro Miura.  It's as if no one else's child has walked around with a pint-sized version of a saw, driven his mama crazy by hammering nothing and everything, and dreamed of using his daddy's drill some day.  Seriously--more tool books, authors!
2. Another book by Aaron Meshon.  We loved his debut children's book Take Me Out to the Yakyu--it was informative and clever, simple and sweet.  We are busting it out again, not for baseball-obsessed Ben but for Lorelei, whose first grade class is studying Japan right now.

Tools Rule! is another adorably illustrated book where a bunch of scattered, messy tools organize themselves to come together to build a shed in order to, well, organize themselves.  The story is mostly told through word bubbles; the tools talk to each other and to themselves and say what's going on or what needs to happen.  Throughout the book there is a little bit of traditional text that acts like an all-seeing narrator.  I do wish that there was more of it to provide a little more structure as the tools, well, build their structure.

But Kiefer will neither notice nor care about a detail like that.  And who is this book for, anyway?  He'll see the big tools jump out on the pages and chuckle as the ruler wakes up his tool friends and spurs them to action.  He'll see the tools using teamwork to build a shed and then cheer at the finished product.

And Meshon thoughtfully gave me, the reader-parent, plenty of opportunities to chuckle as well: He makes puns with the tool names throughout the book.  "Saw?  Saw?  Where is Saw?  I just saw him!" or Clamp saying, "My advice? Let's get a grip on things." or when Hammer tells Nail that he's needed to build a wall and, as Hammer hammers, Nail says, "OK!  Ouch!  OK! OK! Ouch! OK! Ouch!"  Just makes me smile.  I appreciate that, but it also makes this book interesting for an advanced reader like Lorelei, who is ready to seek and find silly play-on-words like Meshon throws in.

At the end, when the toolshed is finished and each  tool is nestled in their own cubby or hook, spot or nook, they say good night to each other.  And then they snore in their own unique ways: "Pourzzz" for Pail, "Bangzzz, bangzzz" for Hammer, "Drillzzzz" for Drill…  See? Doesn't that make you smile, too?

A very cute book with very tough and witty characters! I look forward to reading it twice a day for 30 days straight!


P.S.  I have to include my non-tool-toting but oh-so-funny dad's comments to me after he read this:

I believe that Meshon actually is a ghost writer for Home Depot and Lowes, a covert plot to convince people that tools, and therefore projects that cost money and take up too much time, are cool. 

I have no evidence yet for my belief.  I'm working on it.

Phoebe and Digger by Tricia Springstubb

Phoebe and Digger by Tricia Springstubb, illustrated by Jeff Newman

Rating: 4.5 stars

A digger book!  A digger book with a girl for a main character!  This is already welcome stuff.  Ben was confused, in a great way.  Their definitions of what girls play with/do and what boys play with/do are so chiseled in stone it's great to see a book challenge their stereotypes a little!

And the story is really good: "When Mama got a new baby, Phoebe got a new digger." The baby and Digger made lots of sounds all around Mama, until she says, exhausted from the movement and noise: "It is time to go to the park." Phoebe and Digger have room to play, space for noise, and heaps of real dirt.  Phoebe and Mama are both happy.

Until Phoebe spooks a little boy with a worm, which makes him cry, and that made Mama's baby cry, which "turned out to be a secret baby signal.  Soon every baby in the park was crying."  Phoebe took a time out on the bench.  When she was allowed to play again, a big, mean girl comes in and swipes Digger.  Phoebe turns from a tough cookie to a sad kid in one push of a digger's wheels.  The big, mean girl has Digger.  Phoebe isn't sure she'll ever get Digger back.  Just when she feels like she's about to cry...

When Mama got a new baby,
Phoebe got a new digger.

Mama comes in and rescues her, helps her get Digger back.  After some big hugs and positive interaction between the new siblings for the first time all day, Phoebe gives the baby a turn with Digger while she shares a popsicle with Mama.  It's an ending that makes you feel good.

I am reading children's books through a whole new lens these days.  I came out to the world (okay, really just myself and a few friends on Facebook) as an aspiring author a few weeks ago while packing for my first Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators in New York.  I say "came out" because while I only came out as an author, it did take a dose of bravery to say, out loud, what I've thought of myself for decades.

Anyway, the conference was phenomenal--informative and inspiring and a wonderful immersion into a whole world of kids' literature.  I did my best to scribble down any and all tidbits and suggestions and tips in my notebook, to which I've returned almost daily to get a little dose of motivation.  One of the big takeaways from the conference: a children's book--even one with just 30 or 50 words--needs structure.  I knew I had a lot to learn, but I didn't realize that just reading hundreds (thousands?) of books with my kids didn't teach me what I needed to know about how to write children's books.  The really good ones have a structure behind them that makes them sound better.

And Phoebe and Digger, though there's no rhyming at all in it, has a rhythm to it and a structure to it that makes it read nicely.  For me, there are a lot of similarities between this book and Owen by Kevin Henkes, and a bunch of his other books.  Books that are very well written, and therefore very enjoyable reads...especially, as we do it here, read-alouds.

What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

Rating: 5 stars

A new thing: Throwback Thursday!  Here's an oldie but greatie...

The fact that I've been reviewing and recommending children's books for four years and have not mentioned this book is a crime.  I confess to it.  Right now. I am very sorry; I have been negligent in my duties. I will put myself in time out all day long (with a big stack of books beside me...oh happy day).

Truly, this is a must-have for any three-ish year old child.  Right now, at 2 years and 9 months, Kiefer can't get enough of the book.  Just like Ben couldn't get enough of the book when he was that age.  I sat with Ben just like I now sit with Kiefer, reading each story again and again and again, talking about the water wheel in this story, the special ladder to rescue Huckle in that story... I love the book still.  Which is a good thing, because I'll probably read it to Kiefer again later today.

from A Voyage on the Sea

I like all of the stories, but the priceless-ness is in the pictures: Scarry adds in a hundred little details in his illustrations, which means your child sees something new and different each time they read the book.  Oh--and a note on reading this book: because the illustrations are so intricate, reading isn't necessary to really understand what's going on.  That makes it an excellent choice for pre-readers like Kiefer.

Hopefully your childhood included this magical book.  If not, let me explain a little more about it so that, at the end of this post, you can immediately order it for any 3-ish year old child in your life.

The book is an oversized lap book, and is divided into seven or eight different stories.  I will challenge myself to remember them so I don't have to sneak into Kiefer's room to get it (he sleeps with this book; that, my friends, is book-love):

• Everyone is a Worker 
• How to Build a House 
• Fireman to the Rescue
• How to Mail a Letter
• A Day in the Hospital
• Where Wood Comes From
• How a Road is Built
• A Voyage on the Sea
• Where Bread Comes From

The best illustration in the whole book!
From How A House is Built

Each story is just a handful of pages long, and it uses animal characters to tell the story while also teaching the little reader about the topic.  Ben and Kiefer both love the house building one best--and that's my favorite, too.  I love the step-by-step explanations and the detailed pictures that go right along with it.

At the very least, check this book out to remember a bit of YOUR childhood.  At the very most, order it from your favorite bookseller to share the magic with your favorite reader.



P.S.  Many, many thanks to my godmother Andrea, who gave me this book seven years ago at the book-filled baby shower my sister threw for me.  I can't believe we still have the original!

Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty

Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts

Rating: 5 stars

During the first week of Lorelei's first grade, her teacher asked each student to bring in his or her favorite book to share with the class.  That simple little assignment was like a parenting test for me.  I really wanted to intervene, to suggest some of the fantastic titles we've read and loved here.

I wanted to place one of the Little House books in front of her, so she could share with her class that we read them together each night during her Kindergarten year (and so that I could earn a gold star vicariously for my own reading of the books).

I wanted to place Loren Long's Drummer Boy in front of her, a holiday book rich with emotion and lessons, so she could share with her class the creative result of a song turned into a book (and so that I could earn a gold star vicariously for finding good books off the beaten path).

I wanted to place Lane Smith's John, Paul, George, and Ben in front of her, a unique book telling the story of five (Thomas is in there, too) of our founding fathers, so she could share with her class her knowledge of history (and so that I could earn a gold star vicariously for providing educational books to  toddlers).

Thankfully, I passed the parental test. I resisted the urge to intervene and involve my ego in her homework.

She brought in one book from the Rainbow Magic fairy series, a harmless, light chapter book series for young girls that involves a whole lot of sparkles and fairies and stuff.  (Blech.)

But another girl in her class brought in Iggy Peck, Architect!  And Lorelei was so impressed with it she asked me if we could order it from the library.  ($50 says that no one went home and asked their mother if they could check out the fairy series...)

This clever, rhyming book by Andrea Beaty (author of the Ted series...this is SO MUCH better than those) with fantastically quirky illustrations by David Roberts is about a little boy who just cannot contain his passion for building.  His first masterpiece was

and out on the porch built the St Louis arch
from pancakes and coconut pie

when he built a great tower--in only an hour--
with nothing but diapers and glue.
"Good gracious, Ignacious!" his mother exclaimed.
"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!"
But her smile faded fast as a light wind blew past
and she realized those diapers weren't clean!

There's just the right amount of humor for kids, to keep them laughing and turning the page.  Iggy builds with clay, fruit, pancakes...anything, really.  Until, that is, he gets to second grade, where he meets Miss Lila Greer who doesn't appreciate architecture and tells him to stop.

Until, that is, she takes the class on a field trip to a little island in the park and young Iggy saves the day by rebuilding the footbridge that collapsed as they crossed over the island.  (He starts the suspension bridge with her shoe, and somehow it involves someone's underwear...ha!) Miss Greer jumps from her place as dream-crusher to dream-supporter as she walks to safety.

This is a great book packed with little nuggets of goodness (support your kids' dreams, you parents and teachers! provide creative outlets for them! let them choose their own books, even if silly fairies are involved! oh wait not that one...), and we hope that our library gets Andrea Beaty's newest book, Rosie Revere, Engineer, really soon!

The Busy Building Book by Sue Tarsky

The Busy Building Book by Sue Tarsky, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe

Rating: 4 stars

This is one of Ben's favorite books on construction.  The book follows the steps to build an office building in a big city, from plans to excavating, scaffolding to framing rooms.  It provides just a basic outline with minimal sentences, but included on each page are dozens of labels for those curious readers who want a little more information.  There's a lot going on in each page, so there is plenty to look at...and look at, and look at...  Definitely a good one for the construction collection in anyone's house.

And, speaking of construction, our construction adventure continues!  The house on Kirby Road that we're keeping an eye on is progressing from hole in the ground to a recognizable house.  Last week we picked up Lorelei from school and checked it out with the general contractor and our friend Sidd.

Look closely.  Can you see the hole in my jeans?
Note to self: Don't wear your good jeans when hopping fences.

When we arrived, Sidd invited us to hop over the (low, chain-link) fence, walk down a steep, muddy path, jump through a window-looking opening that was actually going to be a door, stroll around the "basement" while simultaneously dodging a handful of strong men swinging big ol' axes while digging trenches for pipes.

Did I mention that, in addition to holding the hands of my adventuresome 4- and 5-year old kids, 22-month old Kiefer and 62-yearold Grammy were tagging along?  And I (stupidly) was wearing my nicest jeans.  But did I let any of these factors stop me?  NO!  I'm THAT kind of mom who trespasses and traipses while looking cute!

Writing her initials in cement...all kids should do it once!
(Preferably legally.)

And I'm glad we did--because the kids had the chance to see the basement before it became a basement.  Sidd had plans for the house ready for us to page through, and the kids saw how it resembled artwork (albeit more precise).  They get a peak at how Sidd's imagination helped make this muddy hole become a home.  We walked around, with Sidd pointing out different things to the kids while I tried to keep them fairly clear of the swinging axes that might disfigure them (that'd be bad).  There was some fresh cement, and he let them write their initials in it with an iron stick that was lying in the dirt.  The kids' eyes were big the whole time while they soaked up this totally new and cool experience.

Next time, we're wearing boots.  And maybe Kiefer should stay with Grammy in a safer location...

The House Book by Keith DuQuette

 The House Book by Keith DuQuette

Rating: 3.5 stars

This is one of the many building books we've got lying around our house these days.  The illustrations make it worth checking out--I'm looking at the inside flap before the words even begin, and I'm remembering talking with Ben about all the different types of houses that exist.  There are detailed illustrations of an adobe house, an a-frame ski lodge, city row houses, a simple cabin, an old fashioned colonial, a beach house near the sea...

The images in this book (and others) have made Ben talk about what kind of house he would like to live in, and he constantly asks me what kind of house I'd like to live in.  A small part of me wants to remind him of how lucky we are to live in such a nice house with such beautiful woods surrounding us each and every time he brings up the "What kind of house do you want?" conversation.  But I know he's not being ungrateful; he's using the big imagination in his little head to think up alternative homes.  We're all struggling in some way between the balance of appreciating what we have and wanting something different, I think, and Ben is playing with that big idea in a little, safe way.

Ben's block "neighborhood"...

(Neighborhoods are especially attractive to Ben.  We don't have much of one as we live at the end of a pipe stem, and I think he's a little envious of those he sees--the houses are close enough together were kids can play more easily, and yards touch the yard next door...  Something about that has caught his eye in a big way.)

The words in this book are fine--it's a nice rhyme that describe the parts of a house, from door to windows, roofs to yards.  "Each room is used in its own way, / some for work and some for play. / Another fact that's worth revealing; / one room's floor another's ceiling."

But the detailed illustrations are why you want this book in your library bag, especially if you've got a kid who, like Ben, can't stop constructing houses out of anything he touches!

Alphabeep by Debora Pearson

Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming ABC by Debora Pearson, illustrated by Edward Miller

Rating: 4.5 stars

There are hundreds of alphabet books out there--but this one is particularly good.  It is especially great for any little (or big!) car enthusiasts out there...

And Ben sure is.  We just learned about "symbol signage" in Meet Me At the Art Museum, so he loved all the signs for the road.

But I have to warn you in case you're brave enough to drive Ben somewhere.  (Which won't happen anytime soon because he's way too attached to me to get in somebody else's car...maybe next year.)  He is a back seat driver.  I've already had to tell him the important life lesson: "No one likes being told how to drive, Ben!"  He asks me all the questions about the rules of the road, and is constantly baffled by my bad luck with red lights.  "Why are the lights always red for you, Mommy?"  Sigh.  "I guess I need to keep practicing patience, Ben!" is what I cheerfully muster while muttering something else in my impatient brain.

Ben's intersection.
If there's an accident, we've got an ambulence on standby.

But rules of the road are important, and it is cool that he is paying such close attention.  Just a few minutes ago I built him an intersection on our floor with blue painter's tape (our favorite toy), and now he's having his cars take turns stopping and going.  He was disappointed there were no turning lanes; I promised him that next time, I'd plan ahead and include them in my design.

How A House is Built by Gail Gibbons

 How A House is Built by Gail Gibbons

Rating: 5 stars

After reading and falling in love with Building Our Home by Jonathan Bean, Ben became interested in how houses are built.  So I've found as many books about building homes as I can.  This one, by the leader in how-to/informative books Gail Gibbons, is the best we've found.

Usually I'd recommend Gibbons' books for kindergarten and grade school kids.  They are always jam-packed with information--in a good way, but there are usually TOO many details for four year olds like Ben. This one, though, is a great exception.  It's a bare-bones book, providing first an overview of the types of houses that exist.  (In case you wondered, Ben would prefer live in a glass house.  I informed him that's not a wise choice if he plans on inviting his brother Kiefer in as Kiefer is currently in a let-me-throw-anything-and-everything stage.)

 After that very brief introduction--that is done through more illustrations and few words--Gibbons begins to explain the many steps it takes into building a house.  There are so many lessons that can be drawn from this book...I hardly know where to begin!  One of my favorite lessons to show Ben is in the general contractor area--the architect recommends one to be in charge of a team (team! team work! everyone does their part!) that work together (did you hear that?  work together!) to get the job done right (right! not partially right!).  Also, I love explaining that everything is done by steps.  We follow recipes; Kiefer learns how to run; we climb mountains; they get to high school....EVERYTHING is done one step at a time.  I think this is comforting for my kids--I know it is for me.

Now we could have stopped there with the book and the life lessons, but...why?  I called a friend of mine who is a general contractor; might he have any projects we could visit to show Ben how a house is built, rather than just reading the words in a book?  It was our lucky day--Sidd said that they were starting a new house just 25 minutes away from ours.  So today after school, we stopped by for a visit.  I hope it'll be the first of many.

As Ben and I drove to the site, I asked him if he had any questions.  Ben is Mr. Question, so he already had a few for Mr. Kashyap.  First, what kind of house is he building?  Second, who is it for?  After some more chatting, we realized we had two more questions: How long will it take to build the house?  And finally: Can we check out the blueprints of the house?

When we got there we were totally excited.  Everyone drives past excavators all the time, but we had permission to park, get out, and watch up close!  Way cool.  So we did just that.  Sidd was tied up in the county's office so we asked our questions via text.  (A frame house; there's no buyer yet...you can buy it if you want...click here for more information; five months; yes, the plans are online.)  We will return late next week to see concrete poured for the foundation.

We finished up our Mommy and one son outing with milk for Ben, tea for me, and a shared chocolate chip cookie.  In all, a rather fine afternoon!

Sod Houses on the Great Plains by Glen Rounds

 Sod Houses on the Great Plains by Glen Rounds

Rating: 4 stars

Yes, that's right.  I checked out a book on sod houses for my 4- and 5- year old kids.  I believe in encouraging nerdiness at a very young age.

Okay, a little background:  Ben is interested in building, so I called a friend who builds houses and we're going to visit his newest house as it is being constructed.  We're lucky to have this connection, and I feel comfortable exploiting the friendship just a little to open Ben's eyes to one of the zillion possibilities he could do with his life.

Another bit of background: About two years ago I read Worst Hard Times (and then reread the wonderful Grapes of Wrath) and became a little obsessed with the Dust Bowl era of our nation's history.  I started it while still in the hospital after having Kiefer; reading the part about the mom crying because her newborn didn't have clean air to breathe deeply affected my appreciation for how easy I have it in this parenting life of mine.  I want to pass along this appreciation to my trio, and teaching them about this era is one of a zillion ways I plan on doing that.

Uninvited wildlife was another housekeeping problem.

So here's Appreciation 101.  Check out this sod house, Ben!  Aren't we lucky to live in a house that has more than one room, doesn't leak when it rains, and rarely has a cow come through the roof?!  With the help of this neat little book, that was today's lesson over lunch.

This book is geared towards elementary school students--it really does teach a lot in its pages and with its sketches.  The pioneers arrived on the Great Plains and realized they couldn't build houses as they were used to due to the lack of trees and, therefore, wood.

Here was a snippet of our conversation:

Ben: Why couldn't they use trees for wood for the house?
Me:  Look at the picture here.  Do you see any trees?
Ben: No.
Me:  But they need a house, right?  And their temporary houses--the wagons--didn't work so well.  So they had to look around them and improvise.
Ben: And all they could find was dirt?
Me:  Yup.  The dirt could be cut into big rectangles and stacked.  Look at this picture--what does it look like to you?
Ben: Bricks.
Me:  And Duplos, too, don't you think?

You get the idea.  He was all over it, totally into it.  But in case you're wondering, we're not going to build a sod house in our yard anytime soon.  I have to draw the line somewhere...

Anyway, this book is a bit random but very neat--a great way to teach so many lessons.  Shelter is necessary.  Use what you have.  Be creative.  Appreciate what you've got.  Housekeeping stinks in a sod house.

Building Our Home by Jonathan Bean

Building Our Home by Jonathan Bean

Rating: 5 stars

Everyone in our house likes this book, but Ben is the most smitten.  Here is a book that has the potential to stay in his head and work its magic through childhood and into adulthood.  Can one children's book do that?  I sure do think so.

Or maybe he's just trying to shove the pictures in his brain through osmosis; he fell asleep with his head on the last page of this book.  I think there's a little pile of Ben drool still there...

Anyway, this book is a gem.  Based on the true story of his parents moving out to the country and building their own home with the help of all kids big enough to wield a hammer, Jonathan Bean writes a simple tale of building his family's home.  His core family--at the beginning of the book, four people, but by the end there's an additional baby--is the work crew.  Each page shows them working hard, together.  "Dad lays the rocks one on top another while we fill the loud mixing machine."  Later, Grandpa visits with his backhoe (Ben: "Does Grand-Dad have a backhoe, Mommy?"  Me, thinking of how my father doesn't even have a tool box: "I don't think so, Ben, but we can call and ask. You never know.")

But this year the first frost arrives early.

But more people are needed to build this house, of course, and they throw a frame-raising party where extended family comes to help as well as workers from the quarry and sawmill.  Everyone pitches in then, and for the moving in party at the end of the book.

The last pages of the book, after the story is complete, is the wonderful Author's Note.  Bean shares six pictures of his family constructing "the Bean Homestead" that he helped build and then grew up in.  He lauds the "wise love of two parents, the companionship of three sisters, and a practically lived faith."  He also says that in real life the house didn't take just 18 months like in the book.  It took five years.  I'm glad he admits to fictionalizing his childhood a bit, lest we dreamers get any crazy ideas to build our own homes in a year or two.

But we who are lucky only remembers the good times from childhood.  A house--a home--was built, and that's what the author remembers.  The New York Times rightly praised this book last week, read it here, (I should be reading this week's paper instead of typing this...).  I love that the Times fit Building Our Home in among two other books about America.  It doesn't scream out patriotism, but it does imbibe the pioneer spirit that is oh-so-wonderfully American.

I really do wonder if, for Ben, this is one of those books that really captures his imagination in a great, great way.  Time will tell, as it always does.

(As if this post isn't long enough.  So I found out on his blog that the author lives in Harrisburg, PA, and had an open house at THE house from the book.  Man!  I might have driven the two hours to attend with my book in hand.  Dorky confession, I realize...  Hmmm, do you think the author might do it again sometime?)

Bridges Are To Cross by Philemon Sturges

Bridges Are To Cross by Philemon Sturges, illustrated by Giles Laroche

Rating: 5 stars

I LOVE how this book turns bridges, something that one could look at as pretty ordinary, and shows how extraordinary they really can be.

The book is, obviously, about bridges; it's not exactly a story book, but does have enough words on each page that describe the pictures enough to make it better for younger audiences than, say, a DK book on dinosaurs.  Each page shows a gorgeous illustration (see below) that draws the little reader in to that particular bridge.  Struges' text, just one sentence, explains how this bridge is unique.  Some examples:

• Tower Bridge (London, England): "This bridge lets boats float under the road."
• Segovia Aqueduct (Segovia, Spain): "And this one brings river to the city."
• Engetsu Bridge (Takamatsu, Japan): "This bridge was for the shogun to cross to find the quiet of his garden."

  

  "This bridge is very old and very new. 
  It was built long ago, but is always being repaired and rebuilt."

  
• Ponte di Realto (Venice, Italy): "And this one's for ordinary people to cross, to shop, or just watch gondolas."

Under the main text, there are a few sentences that go more in-depth, providing a bit more information.  They are always fascinating, and spark some really great conversation--from "Let's find this on the globe!" or "Is that far or near us?" or "Have you or Daddy ever been to this bridge?"

Giles Laroche is pretty neat himself.  He makes this elaborate paper collages that somehow, magically, turn into the background and foreground of these cool structures.  (The Brooklyn Bridge one is the most impressive, I think.)  I can't imagine how long it takes him to do each one!  He says that he likes to create pictures of faraway places; he is often is inspired by how own artwork to then travel to that faraway place to explore.  I love that no matter where he travels or hikes, he always has a sketchbook in hand.  I am really looking forward to exploring more of his work in books like What Do Wheels Do All Day? and What's Inside?


This book is an inspirational treasure.  Check it out (or buy it) today!

Tremendous Tractors by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker

Tremendous Tractors by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker

Rating: 5 stars

Once again, thanks to my friend Beth and her avid little readers, we've stumbled across another great author, especially (but not exclusively) for boys. Mitton is right along with Andrea Zimmerman/David Clemensha and Philemen Sturges and Byron Barton for books that Ben in particular loves.

Thanks to Tony Mitton, Ben lasted a record-setting 25 minutes in the library (Lorelei was in preschool).  He sat on my lap as we read Mitton book after Mitton book, happy to look at the machine pictures, hear the great rhyming story, and sit in my lap without having to share it (at least I hope that that was part of the reason he was content to stay so long).

Thanks to Tony Mitton, I've already got my nephew's birthday present picked out.  Along with this great book, which is surprisingly informative without being over-the-top education-y, there are a total of ten of these books, including Terrific Trains and Flashing Fire Engines.  Could you ask for a better set?  I'm not sure!  This author and these books are great finds for our family and they will be read over and over again here and probably bought over and over again for other people.

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Rating: 5 stars

When my husband read this book to the kids, he first asked me: "Is Christina Aguilara in this book?"  In case you're wondering, no.  I always love exchanging some grown up quips about books such as these...it keeps me chuckling on the inside.  (Like the time in Thailand a coworker asked me how to say beetle in English after she showed me one she had stashed in her refrigerator for breakfast the next day.  "Inedible," I said.)

ANYWAY!

Zimmerman and Clemesha ROCK at books for little boys (and Lorelei likes their books, too, especially this one).  This has a very similar feel to it as Dig! which is another of our all-time favorites of theirs.  In this book, Mr. Gilly drives around "trashy town" to pick up trash.  He goes to the school, the fire station, the park, etc, and loads it up.  After he empties the cans into his truck, you get to read the catchy refrain: "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town!  Is the trash truck full yet?  NO!  Mr. Gilly drives on."  He collects trash until his truck is full, then dumps it out and heads home.  When he gets home, he takes off his gloves and realizes there's only one more thing to clean up--himself!  He goes to take a bath.

This is a super cute book (not too dirty!) with fantastic, unique illustrations by Dan Yaccarino, someone we'll be checking out in the next few weeks thanks to a suggestion to my friend Beth, whose kids are a few years older than our kids.  I hear we'll be pleased with what we read!

Dig! by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha

Dig! by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal

Rating: 5 stars

I don't need to say who loves this book.  Yup, that's right, our construction-worker-wanna-be, Ben.  And we found this book while Ben and I were at the library last week.  Ben was spending some quality time jumping into the bean bag chairs, which are located right next to the very end of the alphabet of children's book authors.  But what a great discovery we made with Andrea Zimmerman, and her husband David Clemesha!  They have three sons, so their books are pretty wonderful for boys.

This book is so great.  It has all the different Ben components that, together, make it perfect for him, at 22-ish months:

1. It has a backhoe on every single page! Oh happy day!
2. He has a cute dog, Lightning, who also likes to dig.
3. The main character, Mr. Rally, wears a construction hat just like Ben wears!
4. Mr. Rally does five different jobs, and at the end of each job, the text asks, "Is the digging done?" And Ben gets to shake his head as violently as possible and say, "NOOO!"  Except for the last one, when he gets to say, "Yesh!" in that very-Ben way.
5. The last job Mr. Rally does is at the zoo, which we just went to yesterday.  That made the evening's reading of this book all the more exciting.

I will add that, from Ben's mother's point of view, it has two more great things.  Though it does rhyme completely, there are two lines that appear in each job: "Dig up rock and dig up clay! / Dig up dirt and dig all day!"  I think that the rhyme and repetition are helpful at this stage of development.  Also, when his five jobs are finished, Mr. Rally goes home, but does not take off his overalls and work boots.  Instead, he goes to dig in the garden--turns out Mr. Rally digs for work and for play!  How nice to show someone who loves his job so much, he happily does it at home, too.