RAISE THE ROOF!

A man, a woman, a dog. Hammers, nails, boards. Plans, pipes, paint. In simple, retro cartoon style, Smith (On the Go with Pirate Pete and Pirate Joe, p. 650, etc.) brings together the parts for a house, and shows each stage of its construction, from drafting table to landscaping to that first night’s bedtime. Writing largely in three-word phrases, Suen (Loose Tooth, p. 110, etc.) provides a rhythmic backbeat: “Make a plan. / Count the feet. / Clear the land / on this street. / Put in pipes here and there. / Pour concrete everywhere.” Airborne drops of sweat and other dingbats around the ski-nosed, button-eyed builders (including the dog) convey the labor involved. Share this with emergent readers to give them deeper appreciation for what goes into putting up those walls, and to set the stage for more detailed accounts, such as Gail Gibbons’s How a House Is Built (1990). (Picture book. 4-6)