Customer Reviews

How a House Is Built

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We bought this book because we wanted our children to know what to expect while we were building our first home. It was a great step by step guide of the building process with very colorful pictures. I would highly recommend it if you have young children!

This is a simple book, perhaps to simple for my 11 and 13 year old. However it's also a one of a kind. We are building a house this year, our first and the boys really wanted to know what was going on without me turning it into another school lesson. This book does just that each frame (simular to comic book style but larger) is one process of the home as is goes up. It is to the point and doesn't waste paper getting through the steps. Simple but effective. Any child wanting to understand "what's next" but not wanting an engineering lesson would appreciate this book. I do think even a 4 year old, that has it read to them could understand it.

Our family refered to this book constantly as our own house was built. The book is filled with information for children. Plus, I admit it, there are some construction terms that I learned myself. This is a typical Gail Gibbons non-fiction, filled with relevant information combined with clear, easy-to-understand pictures.

Since my daughter started to ask "why" and "how" so much more these days, I have found myself in what I consider the difficult position of reducing my wordiness in order to give explanations. I read to my daughter every day and have started to include some non-fiction to address this. This book and others by the author are a great solution for connecting with young readers and those not reading yet. Gail Gibbons provides a succinct step-by-step discussion of the process of house building without oversimplified or complicated information. Her other books are just as concise and inviting. I find so many other non-fiction children's books too wordy and too confusing to follow. Such books detract from their original purpose, and my daughter is easily distracted. However, she chooses Gibbon's books over and over and gets excited about being able to explain the process back to me in her own way-- that's the ultimate test. This book definitely passes!

Bought this for my grandson who is two. He loves going to the basement and telling me where the duct work is and the water heater is, so I wanted to get him a book to show him about houses. It was a bit too much for him, but I think about 3 or 4 year olds would love this, if they are curious.