The House I'll Build for the Wrens (Hardcover)

by Shirley Neitzel (Author), Nancy Winslow Parker (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2. Another of this team's books, written in the "This Is the House That Jack Built" style. Rebus-filled cumulative verses list the necessary construction materials and tools as a boy sets out to build a birdhouse. Just as the industrious young carpenter is applying blue paint, he is greeted by his mother. She looks at the mess and readers can see that this project has not been authorized. With the help of the dog and cat, the busy narrator puts everything back and wipes up the excess paint. Only then do the child and his mother go out and attach the creation to the tree. "You've built a fine house for the wrens," says Mother. Parker's watercolor, colored-pencil, and pen illustrations are droll extensions of the spare text. The subject is a familiar one and it is handled well; however, the text, forced into the rhyme with rebus format, is a little stiff and awkward.?Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 4^-8. Designed as a rebus, this appealing book offers a wonderful opportunity for children to learn the names of carpentry tools, see initiative at work, and have some fun at the same time. The spunky, cumulative rhyme starts with a little boy holding up plans for the wren house he plans to build; it then goes on as he identifies each item he will use to construct it. Left-hand pages contain nicely sized, crisply outlined pictures of the essentials--the toolbox, the boards, the hammer and nails, and the brush and paints. Opposite is the rebus, with pictures of the tools smoothly worked into the verse, which appears in large, dark type. When the rebus finally swells to fill a page, the format smoothly changes to one that's more traditional. Mom and baby sister arrive home just in time to watch cleanup and help the little carpenter hang his satisfying--albeit unusual--creation. From the cheerful, rhyming text to the fetching art, this is a winner in every way. Stephanie Zvirin

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1st edition (September 16, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688149731
• ISBN-13: 978-0688149734
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #473,511 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The House I'll Build for the Wrens, May 30, 2009

By	Anna M. Ligtenberg "AnnaLovesBooks" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

ISBN 0688149731 - I've owned this book for so long that it began to seem it had been here forever, would be here forever - and would never get read! The title didn't appeal to me, so it sat there. As usual, when I put off a book, it turns out to be a really good one that I regret putting off.

The book starts with a child planning the house he's going to build for the wrens. Written in a cumulative rebus rhyme, similar to "The Green Grass Grew All Around" or "This is the House that Jack Built", the child gathers hammer, nails, wood, paint and more... and then Mom shows up! With just a look, Mom inspires him to clean up the mess he's made, then they hang up his creation for the wrens.

While the accumulating rhyme was amusing, to suddenly come upon the page that says "Here is my mother..." and see her unsmiling face as she looks around cracked me up! The book is fun, funny and - check this out - even a little educational. On the copyright page there is a little information about wrens, which adds an unexpected dimension to this unexpectedly good book. Illustrator Nancy Wilson Parker and author Shirley Neitzel are a pair I'd definitely add to my list of books to look for. They've done other books together that are a similar style, including The Bag I'm Taking to Grandma's and We're Making Breakfast for Mother.

- AnnaLovesBooks