Piece by Piece: How I Built My Life (No Instructions Required)

by David Aguilar, Ferran Aguilar, Fabio Tassone (Read by), Lawrence Schimel (Translator)

Overview

The heartfelt and funny memoir of a boy who built himself a prosthetic arm out of the world-famous toy bricks.

David Aguilar was born missing part of one arm, a small detail that seemed to define his life and limit people’s ideas of who he was and who he could be. But in this funny and heartfelt memoir, David proves that he can throw out the rulebook and people’s expectations and maybe even make a difference in the world—and all with a sense of humor. At only nine years old, David built his first prosthesis from LEGO bricks, and since then he hasn’t stopped creating and thinking about how his inventions, born from a passion for building things, could fuel change and help others.

With a voice full of humor and heart, David tells his powerful story, of family and friendship, of heartbreak and loss, and ultimately of triumph and success, as he continues to dream big and build a life and a better world—piece by piece.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781799788669
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	10/25/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.62(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

David Aguilar and his father, Ferran Aguilar, are from Andorra, in Europe. David was born missing part of one arm. At the age of nine, he designed his first prosthesis with LEGO bricks, and in high school he built the next generation, which he named the MK-1. David’s father encouraged him to make a video about his prosthesis and the huge role that LEGOs played in his life, and posted it on social media, where it went viral and changed both of their lives. In addition to telling his story in this book, David is also the protagonist of the Spanish documentary Mr. Hand Solo, which won the award for best documentary at the Boston Science Fiction Film festival. David is currently developing his own brand, Hand Solo, which will aim to benefit various organizations for the disabled and fight against the stigma of “diff-ability,” as he calls it. Follow David and Ferran on Twitter @Handsolooficial and @AguilarFerran.

Lawrence Schimel is a bilingual author who writes in both Spanish and English, with more than one hundred books to his credit. He is also a prolific literary translator, into English and into Spanish. His translated books include Wanda Gág’s Millions of Cats; George Takei’s graphic novel They Called Us Enemy; and Some Days, written and illustrated by María Wernicke; among many others. He lives in Madrid, Spain. Follow him on Twitter @lawrenceschimel.

Editorial Reviews

Fabio Tassone deftly introduces young listeners to David Aguilar, who was born missing a hand, for which he faced discrimination from taunting classmates and rude strangers. Listeners will feel connected to David and his supportive family, who live in the tiny European country of Andorra. Touching descriptions of family members, particularly his beloved abuela and his kind, clever father (Tassone's best creation), are moving, especially as they confront David's "dif-ability." Tassone convincingly conveys David's persistence as he masters riding his special bike, swimming, and playing ball—and as he designs devices to make his life easier.” —AudioFile Magazine

“Humorous and uplifting…While readers needn’t be LEGO fans to admire David’s ingenuity, fellow builders may be inspired to dream up their own inventions.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Readers will cheer for Aguilar and relate to him as he shares conversational stories about growing up, playing sports, and struggling with school. Family is at the heart of his story, and the endless support and advocacy of his parents, in particular, make this a sweet and uplifting story. Young readers will identify with this creative young person and will question society’s definition of “normal.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/01/2022

Gr 5–8—David Aguilar made headlines as the kid who constructed his own prosthetic arm out of LEGO, but his story begins long before that. He writes of his birth; his family was surprised that he was born without a right forearm. Aguilar shares stories of growing up different from his peers, of bullying, and finding ways to fit in and live a normal life. The question of what is normal runs throughout the book. He asks readers at the outset to count their fingers. "What do you feel when you're missing the eleventh finger?" Aguilar insists that he isn't missing anything more than that eleventh finger; he is different, not disabled. He also writes of how he created his first prosthesis as a way of feeling more normal, more symmetrical, perhaps illustrating just how complicated and personal questions of identity can be. Readers will cheer for Aguilar and relate to him as he shares conversational stories about growing up, playing sports, and struggling with school. Family is at the heart of his story, and the endless support and advocacy of his parents, in particular, make this a sweet and uplifting story. VERDICT Young readers will identify with this creative young person and will question society's definition of "normal." A strong choice for most collections.—Mindy Rhiger

School Library Journal

Fabio Tassone deftly introduces young listeners to David Aguilar, who was born missing a hand, for which he faced discrimination from taunting classmates and rude strangers. Listeners will feel connected to David and his supportive family, who live in the tiny European country of Andorra. Touching descriptions of family members, particularly his beloved abuela and his kind, clever father (Tassone’s best creation), are moving, especially as they confront David’s “dif-ability.” Tassone convincingly conveys David’s persistence as he masters riding his special bike, swimming, and playing ball—and as he designs devices to make his life easier. His crowning achievement is a usable arm created from his precious Lego bricks, which drastically changes his life. Listeners will cheer as David visits—and assists—at Legoland and NASA. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2023 - AudioFile

2022-08-03
A young man from Andorra recounts how he became the first person to build a functional prosthetic arm using LEGO bricks in this memoir translated from Spanish and co-authored with his father.

Due to Poland syndrome, David was born with half a right arm. In a clever introduction, he asks readers to count their fingers, then remarks that they possess no 11th digit, just as he has five rather than 10 fingers. But neither he nor they are missing a thing, he declares. For him, the word disability connotes limitations, while his preferred term, diff-ability, highlights adaptability and possibility. However, his path to acceptance wasn’t easy. With humor and candor, he describes contending with pity, bullying, and romantic heartbreak as a result of his limb difference. Readers will sympathize with his desire to fit in, his frustration at encountering setbacks, and his struggles with high school academics after his beloved abuela’s death. Fortunately, his family’s support was constant; his father was even able to construct devices that enabled him to swim and ride a bike. David quickly discovered his own knack for inventing via LEGO sets, a hobby that culminated in building a prosthetic arm that would make him famous worldwide. Though his stream-of-consciousness narration is occasionally difficult to follow, his wit is engaging, and his interactions with his family are heartwarming. While readers needn’t be LEGO fans to admire David’s ingenuity, fellow builders may be inspired to dream up their own inventions.

Humorous and uplifting. (photos) (Memoir. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews