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Summary
Summary
Buildings, bridges, and books don't exist without the workers who are often invisible in the final product, as this joyous and profound picture book reveals from acclaimed author of The Christmas Boot Lisa Wheeler and New York Times bestselling illustrator of Love Loren Long
All across this great big world, jobs are getting done
by many hands in many lands. It takes much more than ONE.
Gorgeously written and illustrated, this is an eye-opening exploration of the many types of work that go into building our world--from the making of a bridge to a wind farm, an amusement park, and even the very picture book that you are reading. An architect may dream up the plans for a house, but someone has to actually work the saws and pound the nails. This book is a thank-you to the skilled women and men who work tirelessly to see our dreams brought to life.
Reviews (2)
Horn Book Review
Written in aptly propulsive verse and illustrated with aptly muscular art, this is a paean to people who work with their hands. To make a house, an architect is needed. "But... / Someone works to guide the saws, / plane the logs, lead the team. / Someone needs to pound the nails. / Someone has to build the dream." The book follows the hands-on labor as first a house is built, then a bridge, decorative fountain, windmill farm, amusement park, and finally a book -- the one we are reading, in fact. Visually, Long paces the story beautifully. Spreads depicting the cerebral work of an architect, engineer, artist, and others show the person (usually) in isolation, with a large amount of white space surrounding, even confining, their office, classroom, or studio. The subsequent scenes of their ideas being implemented are full-bleed, full-color spreads full of hustle-and-bustle, with hosts of people (of differing races, genders, and abilities) wielding tools, checking blueprints, and operating machinery. Compositions are controlled but busy; colors are bold. The overall feel is one of concentrated activity, industriousness, and progress, very reminiscent of WPA murals of the 1930s. The framing of the book is effective and child-scaled: a neglected piece of land we saw at the beginning is by story's end transformed into a small, attractive park, echoing the book's projects in microcosm (i.e., workers have constructed not a house but a gazebo; not an amusement park but a playground). Closing text exhorts children to appreciate all the "someones" behind built/made things -- but they won't need much of a push after reading this inspirational, inclusive, and engaging book. Martha V. Parravano May/June 2021 p.127(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A loving ode to folks who get their hands dirty doing nitty-gritty jobs. It's all well and good that visionaries--authors, illustrators, scientists, illustrators, architects, and engineers--plot ideas on paper, easels, blueprints, computers, and blackboards, but thoughts, designs, and plans remain figments until pipe fitters, diggers, solderers, construction workers, carpenters, welders, miners, electricians, plumbers, and countless others get down to business and bring dreams to fruition by actually making what creators envisioned. Skyscrapers and houses don't rise on their own, and bridges don't span waterways by themselves. And books don't get published by magic, either! Who gets those words and pictures--as in this very book kids are reading/hearing--onto pages? Why, typesetters and workers who run the presses and load the paper machines! This is a gorgeous, respectful tribute, expressed in jaunty rhymes that read well, to the dignity and beauty of industry and the pride and pleasure derived from doing one's best. The word build is repeatedly italicized for emphasis. Crisp, definitively lined illustrations superbly suit the robust theme. They reveal many future-job possibilities to kids and, happily, depict multiple genders and persons of various races plying various blue-collar and professional trades, including a Black woman reading to kids at a library storytime; one character appears in a wheelchair. Tool and vehicle aficionados will feel at home. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.9-by-22.8-inch double-page spreads viewed at 35.4% of actual size.) Marvelous as a read-aloud and as a springboard to maker projects in classrooms and libraries. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.