WHOSE TOOLS?

This board book is an extended guessing game featuring 24 construction tools.

Each left-hand page features the start of a riddle, such as “To build a house, start down low,” “Place windows high, with floors below,” or “Keep all rooms dry in rain or snow,” and ends with this refrain: “Whose tools are those? Do you know?” The right-hand pages are populated by four or five tools of a particular trade, going way beyond the normal set of tools you might expect in board- or picture-book fare to include specific equipment like pipe cutters, jointers, floats, and wire strippers. The cheery illustrations lend a bit of needed whimsy by adding funny faces, legs, and feet to each device. Each tool-covered page is a foldout, with the page beneath revealing the answer to the riddle, including masons, carpenters, roofers, electricians, plumbers, and painters. The illustrations send the positive message that builders are women and men of different shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnic backgrounds. Little ones really into construction will appreciate the number and variety of tools featured here, and they will enjoy learning their names as well as which workers put them to use.

A nifty, unexpectedly sophisticated exploration of the tools and professions connected to the world of construction.