Let's Go to the Hardware Store

December 15, 2015
Dad, daughter, and son head to the hardware store to find tools for home repair. It's a bigger house for this growing family of five (plus two cats and a dog), but their new home is in need of some fixing. So it's off to the hardware store--a charming mom-and-pop shop full of colorful curiosities. There, brother and sister examine walls of hammers and screwdrivers, poke through bins of brads, and learn about levels. Their list complete, they arrive home only to realize an item is missing, and it's back to the store they go. The artwork, done in a pastel-colored palette, is full of attractive little details, from the patterning on the tool displays to the labels on the window. Captioned spot illustrations depicting the differences among certain tools will delight readers both young and old. Like Taro Gomi, Iwai makes no attempt to light her artwork with shading. Still, objects distinguish themselves as she skillfully applies pattern and color. It's an appealing environment that, while stylized, feels real as the mother sits on the floor breast-feeding, tools strewn around, reminding her husband of the forgotten item. Dad has white skin and sandy hair, while brother and sister share the dark hair and almond eyes of their mother. Accessible for all, from the happy shopper to the tool-obsessed. (Picture book. 3-7)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-When a young family moves to a larger home, there are many repairs to be done. The story is narrated by a boy, who, with his little sister Flora, helps Daddy go to the hardware store to purchase what they will need to make the necessary renovations. With straightforward language and simply composed mixed-media illustrations, Rockwell describes the tools needed for each project and the reasons for the choices that are made. When Daddy and the children get home, Mom reminds them that they have forgotten an important purchase. So the three builders head back to the hardware store. This is a book that will delight young children who like to help out with home projects or who are fascinated with tools and building. It is a wonderful introduction to simple tools and builds a sophisticated vocabulary for junior carpenters. VERDICT A solid addition for picture book collections.-Mary Hazelton, formerly at Warren & Waldoboro Elementary Schools, ME

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.