Let's build a house by Mike Lucas

Engineer Mike Lucas presents an engrossing rhyming text all about the ins and outs of building a house. From buying the block of land, to bringing in the digger to prepare the site, to laying the cement, the tradies are all hard at work. And supported by Daron Parton’s humorous illustrations, readers will easily follow the tasks undertaken by each member of the host of people needed to build a house. When the wooden frame is built, thumbs are hit inadvertently by the hammer. The frame up, brick laying starts, then the roof fixed and just in time as they look up at the incoming weather.

When the windows are put in the key can be handed over. But then another team of tradies appears; this time to do the inside work: plumbing, wiring and painting. Finally the building is over and dad and his daughter can sit down and rest.

Children will learn a great deal from this infectious predictive text covering the features of building a house. They will ask questions about the equipment used and what use it is put to, they will be able to see some of the construction and engineering from the illustrations but will also ask questions about the work the people are doing. Each page is almost like a Kim’s Game of detail. I kept looking at each page the trying to recall all the things involved with building that I could remember after each page was turned. The illustrations also lend themselves to creating lists and model making.

Watch out for the next book: Let’s build a backyard.

Themes: Construction, STEM, Engineering.

Fran Knight