Whatcha building? by Andrew Daddo
Ill. by Stephen Michael King. Harper Collins, 2017. ISBN
9780733334153
(Ages: 4-8) Recommended. Construction, recycled materials. Andrew
Daddo and Stephen Michael King have created a multi-layered book
about how our world is changing around us. When the old wooden milk
bar is torn down and replaced with a shiny steel supermarket, Little
Davey collects all the old timber. It isn't until the end that we
find out that Davey has rebuilt the milk bar in his backyard. This
is uniquely Australian storytelling; not only is the builder called
Big Bruce, but the text is littered with Australian slang (g'day,
mate, cubby, fella) and a little bit of Aussie word butchering ('are
ya?'). It even uses the analogy 'Like Melbourne rain'. At its heart,
this is a book about change (new materials vs. recycled, old
buildings vs. new buildings) and is nostalgic for a slowly
disappearing Aussie-ness. It shows the concrete and steel of the
city beginning to encroach on the rustic, woody, natural
environments and the houses with big backyards often associated with
Australia. When reading this many adults will feel a sense of loss
for that easy, laid back lifestyle characterised by a friendly
'g'day' from a stranger, children walking home from school alone and
playing in the streets and a dog hanging out in the back of a ute.
Nevertheless, there remains an optimistic tone that despite
technological and modern advancement a certain spirit lives on in
the children of today (a simple game of backyard cricket with the
skyscrapers of the city in the background, Little Davey's enthusiasm
for building a place to sit down and share a cuppa and a chat). It
isn't shiny new buildings or even a rollercoaster or a skate park
that Little Davey wants; it is the old milk bar on the corner that
he thinks is special. There are many themes and ideas presented here
that will initiate a variety of conversations and explorations,
especially regarding how the world is changing, what is being lost
and what we should try to hold on to.
Nicole Nelson