Tuesday Storytime: Construction Crews

A fun, shortish trio of books today.

Build, Dogs, Build
James Horvath (Dig, Dogs, Dig)
ISBN: 9780062189677
Hanna-Barbara-ish dogs demolish an old building and build a new apartment complex, in rhyme.

Very much like Dig, Dogs, Dig, but with more of a focus on the materials and visuals of the emerging building, rather than on the actions of the dogs doing the work.  A few moments where I wondered if pages were missing; we move from worrying about a moving van hitting a plate glass window to a scene of dogs chasing bouncy-balls all over the construction site.  A sharper look reveals that the van is CARRYING said bouncy-balls, and they all fell out when the van swerved to miss the glass, but none of that is in the text, and it seems to jump wildly from work to breaktime with no warning.  Even the ending is a bit abrupt.  I was expecting a final repeat of the "x, dogs, x" motif that was scattered randomly through the book.  Despite this, very clever, very readable, and highly recommended for the focus on plans and engineering and actual construction details like water and sewer pipes, the thickness of the concrete flooring, and the correct order of building, cladding, and finishing the interiors of the high-rise.


Demolition
Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock
ISBN: 9780763658304
(originally reviewed here)

Same thoughts as the review from before: Kids absolutely love it, and I enjoy the word-play and the super-fast flow.  I do prefer Roadwork, and I would like to get my hands on Construction and see how it flows in comparison.


Construction Kitties
Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges, illustrated by Shari Halpern (I Love Trucks!)
ISBN: 9780805091052
Naif round-faced kitties run progressive pairs of heavy machinery; turning a field into a playground.

This book is too cute.  Short enough to be a middle book, with a very clear and steady progression through the day, from mornings at home, the drive to work (often skipped over by picture books) the work day, lunch (sardines and milk, yum!) and a break for relaxation (also often skipped over) work again, and a drive home.  All this powered by a steady flow of various equipment that digs, moves, pushes, and smooths dirt into a playground, and a rhythmic drumbeat of language that reads like poetry, even though it is non-rhyming.  A good one to end on, and the one the kids paid most attention to and responded directly to, despite being last (and therefore more susceptible to wiggles).