THIS IS THE CONSTRUCTION WORKER

Name: THIS IS THE CONSTRUCTION WORKER
Author: Laura Godwin
ISBN: 978-1-368-01817-3

by Laura Godwin ; illustrated by Julian Hector ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019

Nevertheless, if strictly factual representation of the actual construction process isn’t important, the hard-hatted action...

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As this book opens, a construction worker gears up to start her day.

She and her crew operate heavy equipment, jackhammers, and other power tools as they build a skyscraper. The hubbub on the site is broken down into rhyming units of activity with a “House That Jack Built” beat: “This is the scaffold / that reaches the sky. / This is the clang / and the bang / and the cry—.” At the end of the productive day, the tired workers jump into their crew-cab pickup and carpool home. Unfortunately, Godwin’s verses waver from snappy to tongue-tripping: “This is the grind of the gears / and the smell of the diesel and oil. / These are the shouts and the cheers. / This is the sound of the toil.” Hector’s illustrations depict a diverse crew (the protagonist has brown skin and fluffy black hair) and showcase enough heavy equipment to give young construction buffs a charge. However, his details are at odds with reality. The story opens with the first four floors of a high-rise in progress, but at the end of the day there are 19 stories! One scene shows workers hammering nails into what appear to be steel vertical beams—a miracle if they succeed. The building is slowly going up, but a worker is inexplicably using a jackhammer on one of the newly poured slabs.

Nevertheless, if strictly factual representation of the actual construction process isn’t important, the hard-hatted action should please aficionados. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: May 7, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-368-01817-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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OWL SEES OWL
by Laura Godwin ; illustrated by Rob Dunlavey

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THE DOLL PEOPLE'S CHRISTMAS
by Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin ; illustrated by Brett Helquist

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THE DOLL PEOPLE SET SAIL
by Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin ; illustrated by Brett Helquist

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CARS

From the All About series

by Géraldine Krasinski ; illustrated by Olivier Latyk ; translated by Wendeline A. Hardenberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 5, 2019

Not a high-octane outing, but it could fill in some background for curious would-be motorists just out of their car seats.

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Pull tabs and other special effects rev up this look at the lives of cars, from factory to junkyard.

The book opens with a sparse “museum” of early autos and closes with a visit to a Formula 1 racetrack. In between, single-topic spreads take generic automobiles from design lab to dealer, supply glimpses of a dashboard and beneath the hood, then go on to show what happens at a repair shop, a service station, and a car wash. Moving elements, one or two per page, are fairly sturdy and relatively varied—ranging from large flaps to geared wheels, tabs, and slots that work a hydraulic lift or allow a wreck to be hauled aboard a tow truck. In Hardenberg’s translation from the French, Krasinski’s simply phrased labels and commentary incorporate some distinctive vocabulary: “prototype,” “exhaust pipe,” “pre-owned.” Though hybrid, electric, and driverless cars receive nods, the focus throughout is mainly on traditional gas guzzlers. Latyk darkens the skin of some of the stylized human figures in his simple illustrations, but like the cars on display, most are small on the page and generic of feature.

Not a high-octane outing, but it could fill in some background for curious would-be motorists just out of their car seats. (Informational novelty. 4-6)

Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-2-40800-790-4

Page Count: 22

Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle

Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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LET'S CARE FOR BABY!
by Géraldine Krasinski ; illustrated by Amy Blay

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PETS
by Géraldine Krasinski ; illustrated by Xavier Deneux

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VEHICLES

From the Magnetology series

by Anne-Sophie Baumann ; illustrated by Hélène Convert ; translated by Wendeline A. Hardenberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 4, 2020

An interactive alternative to the many other galleries of conveyances winged, wheeled, or afloat.

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Dozens of different vehicles can be set to work or recreational use on a set of magnetized land- or seascapes.

Packaged on punch-out plastic sheets stashed in an attached storage envelope, the 45 vehicles in this French import—from Soyuz and Ariane rockets to a horse-drawn cart—are identified in a visual key at the end. Most are ridden, driven, or otherwise supervised (except for the pilots of the drone and a remote-control submarine, who go unseen) by an actively posed cast that’s diverse in both age and race. Baumann supplies a sparse assortment of banal observations (“With an inflatable raft, people can enjoy floating and relaxing on the water”) scattered over each of the five spacious and largely empty air, land, or water scenes on which the vehicles can be distributed. Like Ines Adams’ Ocean, illustrated by Oliver Latyk (2018), and other titles in the Magnetology series, the plethora of small magnetized pieces offers plenty of opportunity for recognition and play (not to mention treasure hunts, as they will readily scatter). Though not strong enough to hold items on a refrigerator, they will adhere to the sturdy backdrops well enough to stay in place even when the pages are held vertically.

An interactive alternative to the many other galleries of conveyances winged, wheeled, or afloat. (Informational novelty. 4-6)