Lot at the End of My Block: Picture Book [Hardcover]

Kevin Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

Chock-full of dump trucks and bulldozers, kids will recognize their favorite construction vehicles and machinery as a new addition is welcomed to the neighborhood.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the architects of this sunny, House That Jack Built-style cumulative rhyming tale, Lewis (Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo) and Cartwright (Mr. Potter's Pigeon) know what their readers want: construction, and lots of it. The narrator is a lucky boy who watches as an empty lot becomes a building site. The site then ends up being an apartment complex that houses a new friend. Lewis's rhymes stack up cleanly, with the evenness of well-laid bricks: "This is the shovel that backs with a beep/ and fills the dump truck with dirt from the heap/ on the side of the pit, all dusty and deep,/ that I saw through the hole/ that was made in the wall/ that was built by the workmen/ who came to the lot/ at the end of my block." With their bold geometry and sky-bright colors, Cartwright's pictures conjure the graphics of a billboard, emphasizing the site's interplay of curves and lines. They also pack in enough dirt and suggest enough detailing to satisfy young construction connoisseurs. The perpetual smiles on the four workers (all male) should strike readers as wholly appropriate as well--after all, for this book's fans, these men have the best job in the world. Ages 3-6.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-In a rhyme that follows the pattern of "This Is the House That Jack Built," a young boy tells the story of how an empty lot is transformed into an apartment building. He first introduces the workmen, then the wall they build with a hole in it, and everything he observes through this window to their world. He introduces each piece of equipment, first the dump truck, then the bulldozer, crane, and finally the cement mixer. He explains how each one works as the building begins to rise, and as the building begins to grow, so does the amount of text on each page, through repetition, opposite the illustration. The bold primary colors create almost three-dimensional construction equipment, workers, and girders against the city skyline in fading degrees of cobalt to sky blue. And to top it off, the little boy gets a new buddy, a child who moves into the building.
Wanda Meyers-Hines, Ridgecrest Elementary, Huntsville, AL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (April 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078680596X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786805969
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,169,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kevin Lewis is the author of My Truck Is Stuck!, The Lot at the End of My Block, and Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo. He is a children'Â’s book editor and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lot at the end of the block, May 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Lot at the End of My Block: Picture Book (Hardcover)

Toddlers enjoy repetition. (For those of you who have just read the same book for the fifth time today to your little one, this is no mystery!). Toddlers also love construction vehicles. The story is a cumulative tale written in the "House-That-Jack- Built" style and has bright illustrations showing a 4-story building going up. In other words, _The lot at the end of the block_ is a winning combination for toddlers and other young children who are intrigued by construction. Beware though, your tongue may become tied after multiple readings! I do wish that there was at least one "token" female operating some heavy equipment...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A surprise at the end of the book., March 25, 2002

By 

tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lot at the End of My Block: Picture Book (Hardcover)

This book is about a boy watching a new apartment complex being built at the end of his block. The book is written in the repetitive style like "The House That Jack Built" and songs that are sung in rounds. It is also written in rhymes. Young children really enjoy construction stories and pictures (look at the Bob the Builder series) and this book is not only fun to listen to and read, but introduces children to a few construction terms as well. A delightful little book.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Truck book, for toddlers/preschoolers, January 30, 2010

By 

Lene Walters (Wasilla, AKUnited States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lot at the End of My Block: Picture Book (Hardcover)

We really enjoyed "My truck is stuck" and "Dinosaur Dinosaur" so we thought we'd try this book as well. It's just ok, especially when compared to the two before mentioned books. This one is very repetative, reminds me of the old lady who swallowed a fly diatribe. So, if that's something you like, then this book would be for you. otherwise, I would recommend some of Kevin's other books before this one.