A Year at a Construction Site

Send in the cranes! Bulldozers! Earthmovers! Would you like to watch how a building goes up? During the next twelve months, these construction workers are building a school. Check out these eight action-packed scenes for a bird's-eye view of the whole process. See how the workers make the foundation, add the walls, and put on the roof. Keep your eye on the calendar too. By spending a whole year at the building site, you can watch events unfold until the school is ready for students and teachers.

Send in the cranes! Bulldozers! Earthmovers! Would you like to watch how a building goes up? During the next twelve months, these construction workers are building a school. Check out these eight action-packed scenes for a bird's-eye view of the whole process. See how the workers make the foundation, add the walls, and put on the roof. Keep your eye on the calendar too. By spending a whole year at the building site, you can watch events unfold until the school is ready for students and teachers.

Children's Literature

"While the work (to build a new school) goes on, all sorts of things are happening. They are not always part of the plan! A few small accidents take place. Animals and children come and go. There's always something new to find!" It is true that there is always something new to find in this lively construction book, part of the "Time Goes By" series, which pays homage to the Where's Waldo series. With a cute little calendar in the upper right of every page showing off the month of the year, and tabs that come to life with color at each new stage of construction, this book clips along with one action-packed construction scene after another. On each page there is something new to find as well as some repeats (i.e. someone chasing a dog and workers eating). On that level, this book works well. It is fast, fun and vibrant, with Waldo-esque pictures as well. However, those actually involved in the construction trade would be aghast at the depiction of the worksite. To put it another way, OSHA would have this job shut down in minutes. Not only are "small accidents taking place," wrecking balls are swinging by people's heads, workers are being covered in concrete, and men are slipping on spills and falling off walls. The fact that the school ever gets finished is a miracle. At the end of the book, to try again to regain a bit of legitimacy, a glossary is included as well as suggested books for further reading and links to the Bob the Builder website and another called Kikki's Workshop, the latter of which is cutely illustrated while still offering up some serious construction information. All-in-all this title is much like a pop song, fun but without substance. Reviewer:Paul Walter

Nicholas Harris began his career in publishing 1978. He worked for a number of adult nonfiction and children's publishers before setting up own company, Orpheus Books Ltd., in 1992. He has written many nonfiction works for children, specializing in science, astronomy, prehistory, zoology, geography, and ancient history. He lives near Hereford, England.