Ready, Set, Build!

by Meg Fleming, Peter Jarvis (Illustrator)

Overview

Grab your hard hat and get ready for a day of construction fun with a busy builder and his friend!

Grab your hard hat, tie your boots.

Pack your lunch. Ready? Scoot!

Sketch a dream. Post a chart.

Hatch the plan before you start.

Get ready for a day full of construction fun! Children can follow a busy dog builder as he sketches and plans his dream, clears rubble to make space, and gets to work digging, lifting, and sawing. He builds a house for himself and his bird friend, and satisfied after a hard day's work, they takes in all they've done and look forward to the next day of building!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781499801750
Publisher:	little bee books
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Series:	Mini Bee Board Books Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Meg Fleming has built many wonders in the field of construction. Her greatest architectural achievement is a 17-foot gum wrapper chain that she made in the car when she was eleven years old. She loves hatching ideas, then building . . . and building . . . until they become her favorite thing: a story. Meg writes from her home outside of San Francisco, California, with her husband and kids who build things out of wood and wheels, flour and sugar, and bits and bytes. She also has a dog who always wears a hardhat. Please visit Meg at MegFleming.net.

Jarvis is the author of Lazy Dave and Alan's Big, Scary Teeth. Jarvis has always doodled wherever his career has taken him, from graphic design student to record jacket designer to animation director. He lives in a very leafy and quiet part of Northern England with his girlfriend (who tells him what's good/bad and pretty much gives him most of his ideas) and his cat, who rips those ideas into tiny pieces. Find out more about Jarvis at byjarvis.com.

Editorial Reviews

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go! Say hello to a playful bunch of little adventurers in this funny, rhyming picture book from author Meg Fleming and award-winning illustrator Jarvis.
Warm, whimsical and full of Jarvis' distinctive, bold and painterly illustrations in a textured colour palette, this is a joyful and entertaining story about working hard, having fun and discovering the joys of a job well done.

Lancashire Evening Post - Pam Norfolk

A lively and fun rhyming adventure for every little builder by award-winning illustrator, Jarvis. Follow Dog and Bird as they build a home together - from sketching the building, to clearing the rubble, digging and using the machinery. Everything must be done just so... will the house be finished by the end of the day? Wonderful illustrations are full of interest with lots of intriguing details to spot and enjoy.

Parents In Touch

A lovely picture book to use with preschool and early years childen when exploring building and construction as the rhyming verse makes it a good read-aloud with younger children, while there is enough detail in the text and images to explore more around the subject of construction with early years children. The story follows Dog and Bird as they build a home together, from sketching the plans to clearing the site, digging and then building. Dog is very child-friendly - he arrives at work on a skateboard and stops for lunch under a tree - and bird keeps him company. Children can be encouraged to think about the different steps in constructing a building and all the different machines that will be needed

Reading Zone

01/01/2017
PreS-K—A blue dog sets out for a day of construction work. He begins with a plan before getting to work and uses a variety of tools and construction vehicles, with a little green bird as a coworker. The dog and bird take a short break for lunch and then are back to work, until finally they have completed their project for the day, a big blue "Dog and Bird House" with a green roof. The dog and bird head home to get some rest so they can return to work the next day, which promises to be "twice as fun." Fleming offers a sprightly picture book that will appeal to young readers, particularly those with an interest in construction. She writes in simple rhymes, and her text reflects the enthusiasm of the dog and the bird, both of whom truly enjoy their work. Jarvis's use of bold, solid colors pairs well with the energy and exuberance of Fleming's text. The blue dog is depicted with large, cartoonlike features, and the bird is drawn with simple circular shapes, and both are eye-catching. Fleming's short, bouncy rhymes coupled with Jarvis's big, bright illustrations make this an excellent choice for a read-aloud in a group setting. VERDICT A definite winner for construction-themed storytimes and for readers looking for a fun and vibrant picture book. Expect high circulation.—Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2017-02-14
A safety primer for budding construction engineers."Sketch a dream. Post a chart. / Hatch the plan before you start." Donning sturdy boots and a hard hat, a blue dog sets out to design and build a house using both hand tools and heavy machinery. Each stage of the enterprise features a big, bright, very simple cartoon scene and a cautionary remark—from "Use your legs and not your back" when lifting loads and "come down steady" on a ladder to "Goggles on before you slice. / Cut just once—but measure twice." Of course, there's also a break for lunch. At last the dog and a small bird who has been looking on step back to admire their finished building and then head home to hang up the hard hat, hit the pillows, and dream of future projects. Kids will enjoy seeing the bird's involvement, which ranges from reasonably credible, as when it perches on the dog's hard hat while eyeing a worm at lunchtime, to the whimsically impossible, as when it helps the dog lift a cinder block by fluttering aloft while holding a string tied to one end in its beak. Good, artfully delivered advice for would-be builders of any age. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews