Review by Booklist Review
In this fanciful story, would-be builders are encouraged to Sketch a dream. Post a chart. Hatch the plan before you start. The simple rhyming text breaks down the process step-by-step. A blue dog dressed in red boots and a yellow hard hat works with a green bird to design and build a home for themselves. Collage-style illustrations combine bright primary colors with chalk or crayon details. Using a mix of imaginative play and realism, the story incorporates many parts of the construction process, such as clearing a site, digging a foundation, building walls and a roof, and adding windows. The dog demonstrates how to use several tools and models safety by putting on goggles, a seat belt, and ear protection. Comical interplay between the dog and the bird adds visual humor to the straightforward text. After the busy workday, the duo switch from ready, set, build to ready, set, sleep. The next day, however, the dog surprises the bird with sketches for an even bigger house! Playful, informative fun for little builders.--Whitehurst, Lucinda Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-A blue dog sets out for a day of construction work. He begins with a plan before getting to work and uses a variety of tools and construction vehicles, with a little green bird as a coworker. The dog and bird take a short break for lunch and then are back to work, until finally they have completed their project for the day, a big blue "Dog and Bird House" with a green roof. The dog and bird head home to get some rest so they can return to work the next day, which promises to be "twice as fun." Fleming offers a sprightly picture book that will appeal to young readers, particularly those with an interest in construction. She writes in simple rhymes, and her text reflects the enthusiasm of the dog and the bird, both of whom truly enjoy their work. Jarvis's use of bold, solid colors pairs well with the energy and exuberance of Fleming's text. The blue dog is depicted with large, cartoonlike features, and the bird is drawn with simple circular shapes, and both are eye-catching. Fleming's short, bouncy rhymes coupled with Jarvis's big, bright illustrations make this an excellent choice for a read-aloud in a group setting. VERDICT A definite winner for construction-themed storytimes and for readers looking for a fun and vibrant picture book. Expect high circulation.-Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A safety primer for budding construction engineers."Sketch a dream. Post a chart. / Hatch the plan before you start." Donning sturdy boots and a hard hat, a blue dog sets out to design and build a house using both hand tools and heavy machinery. Each stage of the enterprise features a big, bright, very simple cartoon scene and a cautionary remarkfrom "Use your legs and not your back" when lifting loads and "come down steady" on a ladder to "Goggles on before you slice. / Cut just oncebut measure twice." Of course, there's also a break for lunch. At last the dog and a small bird who has been looking on step back to admire their finished building and then head home to hang up the hard hat, hit the pillows, and dream of future projects. Kids will enjoy seeing the bird's involvement, which ranges from reasonably credible, as when it perches on the dog's hard hat while eyeing a worm at lunchtime, to the whimsically impossible, as when it helps the dog lift a cinder block by fluttering aloft while holding a string tied to one end in its beak. Good, artfully delivered advice for would-be builders of any age. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
