Building

"This is a deserted lot. It sits between two buildings not far from downtown. It's mostly dirt, with a few tufts of grass, some weeds, and two trees with peeling bark. It's covered with broken glass and trash. A chain-link fence keeps people out..." So begins Elisha Cooper's tribute to construction. An architect arrives with plans and surveyors. Then a backhoe "scoops up dirt like a messy eater." Soon trucks filled with building materials come, along with the many workers ready to transform this once vacant lot into a new and beautiful building. Watch workers spread and smooth concrete, saw and nail boards, seal and caulk the roof, windows, and doorways, install insulation, and build new floors, walls, and stairs. Next come the electricians, plumbers, and painters to finish the inside and get it ready for people..... Mr Cooper's lyrical text is engaging and fascinating as it moves up, down, and across the pages mimicking the building process. His watercolor and pencil illustrations capture the small details in the text and complement the story beautifully. Together, word and art offer a creative and informative lesson in how a building comes to life. Perfect for youngsters 5-10, Building is an imaginative and evocative experience. "This is a building. It stands between two other buildings not far from downtown. It stands empty, waiting to be filled with people. You can't hear the hammering, can't smell the concrete, can't taste the fried chicken, can't see the measured beams. But they are all part of the building, and you can feel them."

My older boy, now three, has been having books about building and trucks and the like read to him now for well over eighteen months. Even with this potentially numbing single-issue reading list, we have cycled through a good number of books of this "genre" at bedtime. This is the first book that we have seen that has mentioned a port-a-john. While this might seem like an unnecessary thing (after all, why shouldn't folks who work on big rigs, drive trash trucks, fight fires, etc be like movie stars who don't go to the bathroom), it makes this otherwise simple book very effective, even after all the others we have seen. Together with other details-- the workers swap jokes, chat about last night's game, eat fried chicken, nap at lunch, etc.-- the cumulative effect is that the builders, who might otherwise seem abstractions, are made more like our boy, and us, and all of us. Our lad goes to the bathroom, why shouldn't workers? He likes jokes, etc. Their efforts seem more honest and real as a result and the book was, after all the others we have read, still was able to spark a conversation about building and like between my boy and me.