Let’s Build by Sue Fliess

August 6, 2014
goodreadswithronna
Ages 4-8, Art & Architecture, Building & Construction, Children's Book Reviews, Father and son story, Juvenile Fiction

LET’S BUILD BY SUE FLIESS WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY MIKI SAKAMOTO
IS REVIEWED BY MARYANNE LOCHER.

What’s better than the weekend? Spending it with your dad, especially when you’re building a clubhouse together in your yard.

Let’s Build by Sue Fliess with illustrations by Miki Sakamoto, Two Lions Publishing, 2014.

Let’s Build, a picture book written by Sue Fliess with illustrations by Miki Sakamoto, (Two Lions; 2014; Ages 4-8; $14.99) shows us that having fun can sometimes be hard work, and that hard work can often be fun. From idea to finished product, a dad and his son work together as a team. The son picks the perfect spot in the yard, the dad draws up plans, then they both make tracks to the hardware store for supplies.

Here’s a handsaw,
bolts and screws.
Look! Some plywood
we can use.

There are opportunities to learn about safety when using tools …

Time to hammer.
Swing it now?
Wait! Here, let me
show you how.

… and about keeping your work area safe for pets. (No animals are harmed, but there are blue and red dog and squirrel paw prints all over the pages.)

Paint the outside
blue and red.
Oops! I dripped some on Dad’s head!

As in so many of her books, Fliess writes in verse, and in a meter that hits the nail on the head. Sakamoto uses acrylics and gouache then Photoshop to create the brightly colored illustrations that bring the story to life. Together, author and illustrator have constructed a solid picture book.
I’d recommend this book for anyone planning to build a clubhouse, fort, or playhouse with their son or daughter.