Building Our House

by Jonathan Bean

In this unique construction book for kids who love tools and trucks, readers join a girl and her family as they pack up their old house in town and set out to build a new one in the country. Mom and Dad are going to make the new house themselves, from the ground up. From empty lot to finished home, every stage of their year-and-a-half-long building project is here. And at every step their lucky kids are watching and getting their hands dirty, in page after page brimming with machines, vehicles, and all kinds of house-making activities!
As he imagines it through the eyes of his older sister, this is Jonathan Bean’s retelling of his own family’s true experience, and includes an afterword with photographs from the author’s collection.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Construction, Nonfiction, Realistic Fiction, Architecture

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 8, 2013

About the author

Jonathan Bean is an award-winning artist who has illustrated many books for kids, including the critically acclaimed Bad Bye, Good Bye by Deborah Underwood. He is a two-time winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for his books At Night and Building Our House.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Watch how a family picks up and moves to the country to build a house themselves while living on site. Very educational and it's based on a true story of a family who did this. Nice illustrations as well.

4****

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I do not often give five star rankings, but Jonathan Bean's Building Our House has been a pure and utter reading and visual delight, a sweet (and indeed also true) story of how the author's parents bought a plot of land and then with their own hands (like in the so-called good old days) built their family home from bottom to top (mostly on their own, with both the father and the mother one hundred percent engaged in the building process, and with the father also still working at his nine to five job, but also and interestingly, just like in the days of yore, having friends and family occasionally help, such as for example to set up, to raise the house's wooden frame and just like how in the past, friends and neighbours would not only help each other out but also throw a social get-together, throw a huge party at the same time). Told in the voice of Jonathan Bean's older sister (and from her point of view) and accompanied by minutely detailed, aesthetically delightful illustrations presenting and depicting every part of the house building process (although it must be mentioned that according to the author's note, the construction of the house actually took five years to complete and not as is related in the narrative proper one and a half years), Building Our House is a perfect picture book for children who enjoy construction and building types of tales. But really, Building Our House is also a lovely story simply in and of itself, and certainly does glowingly show and depict how one family managed to live in a small trailer whilst painstakingly but with love, determination and the support of both family and friends constructs brick by brick, layer by layer their dream home (whilst also at the same time, raising a young family, as the author's note points out that during the construction of their house, Jonathan Bean's father and mother had three children, two girls and one boy, the author).

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fictional story of a family moving out to the country to build their house. In the story, the father and mother, with the help of family and friends, build the house in a year and a half. In the Author's Notes, he states that the story is based on his sister's memories, and that the building of the house actually took five years to build. He has pictures of the house being built.

The detailed illustrations and text is great for children who like tools, trucks and building things. This book depicts a wood frame house with a basement. Reading level I feel is second grade and up.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pros: I loved the details and steps taken to build a house. It wasn’t just here’s a floor and we built some walls and voila a house. There was passing of time by seasons, cat having kittens, mom having a baby. I’ve always liked looking at floor plans and blueprints so that was fun to have a spread just of that. And surprise! at the end it has a quick authors note that showed that this book was based off his family who built a house when he was little.

Cons: I didn’t see one POC, and it wasn’t just the one family, there was neighbors, construction workers, so they had plenty of people, could have shown some diversity.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, the author notes, is a true story... except for one critical thing. In the book, it took an unbelievable year and a half. Irl it took a more realistic five years. I'd find it more inspiring if it were more realistic.

Then again, even five years really isn't long... I'm impressed.

Highly recommended to interested readers of any age, and to all children.

Edit! Jennifer says that this is realistic, in a significant way. See her comment here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved this book! It was wonderfully detailed, both the story and the illustrations. (I loved watching the little side-story with the stray cat who adopted them!) In addition to being a great look at the actual physical effort of house-building, is a book about home-building, a family full of warmth and optimism -- maybe the rose-colored glasses are on a bit firmly (the IRL five years would be a bit long, oh my!) but I think there's just something really special about the family all coming together to make their dream a reality.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject matter does nothing for me (other than, as an adult, stress me out a little) but I appreciated the charming details in the illustrations. Being told from a child's perspective, it seems like one big adventure and I could do with a little more of their pioneering spirit! The Author's Note is not to be missed - it's very touching.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture-book author/artist Jonathan Bean, who made his debut with the 2007 At Night , here turns to his own family history to tell the story of how their home was built. Told from the perspective of Bean's older sister, the narrative here follows the Bean family as they move into a trailer home on the land they have recently purchased, and begin making preparations to build their dream house. From laying the foundation to raising the frame, it's a process that requires a lot of hard work, but plenty of love and community involvement too.

An engaging and informative book that works equally well as a family story and as an exploration of how a house is built, Building Our House is sure to have lots of appeal for children who enjoy looking at pictures of backhoes and trucks, as well as for those who simply wonder how structures are made. I enjoyed both story and artwork - as a cat lover, I particularly liked the way that the family cat shows up on every two-page spread! - and appreciated the inclusion of an afterward with photographs, documenting the 'real' story behind the story. Recommended to young children who enjoy learning how things are built, and to anyone looking for picture-books showing families living and working all together.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know how kids can watch workers on a construction site long periods of time? Well, Jonathan Bean has written a book that should appeal to these construction site kids. Loosly based on the recollections of the house built by the author's parents when he was a child, the story takes the reader through building a house step by step through the eyes of the young girl who is going to live there.

It is a house built from scratch, in the middle of a field. The family, Mom, Dad, big sister/narrator, and little brother, arrives at the field, tools and blueprints in hand. Then a small trailer pulls in, temporary shelter until the house is finished. Most of the work is done in the evening when Dad gets home from work, and weekends, so it is going to be a long process even though everyone pitches in, doing what they can.

Begun in fall, soon winter comes, followed by spring. More work is done on the house. Soon a cat shows up among the building materials along with summer. More building and before the end of summer, a frame-raising party is held with friends and family helping, along lots of food and fun.

By winter, the basic house is finished enough to live in, mostly around the warmth of a stove. Indoor work occupies the winter. and as time passes both Mom and Kitty Cat are pregnant. In spring it is time for another party - a moving party.

Again, friends and family come by to help the family, Mom, Dad, big sister, little brother, new baby and kitties, offically move into their new home.

Building Our House is a gentle, straight-forward narrative, with sparse text that nevertheless conveys much. Not only does it give basic step by step details about how a house is built, it also revels in the idea of family and working together. Everyone in the family does what they can, and no matter how small the task, it is important.

And just as it revels in family, it also celebrates extended family and friends, working together to help accomplish something and fostering the sense of community that.

I found this to be a really delightful story to read and I think that it will appeal to both boys and girls and that if you are reading this with a child, you may find that the wonderful very detailed watercolor-and-ink illustrations done by the author are sure to spark lots of close examination and conversation. (So the idea of family/friends doing something together comes full circle).

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was purchased for my personal library

This review was originally posted at Randomly Reading

[Ziwei Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long time ago, there had been a family which bought an old field to build the house there. They asked their family relatives for help. A lot of family members came to help, and they totally built this house by themselves. They built this house in different seasons, no matter what worst weather they had been through, the family members never gave up building their house.

This is actually a true story happening in life. The author is the little boy there. The whole book uses a comic style to demonstrate it. In different seasons they have different colors to demonstrate the background. Basically the book uses the picture to show people what happened there.
This book is not only interesting, but it can also used to educate the kids. They can learn a lot from the book and lots of theories illustrated in the book.

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really wonderful. I love the illustrations, I love the flow of the text. It somehow manages to make something like tediously building a house a magical thing.

Highly recommend for small children.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't help but notice the mother cat had kittens while the house was being built.

[Kristin Nare · Rating 5 out of 5]

The boys and I really enjoyed this account of a family building their house together. I thought it was really neat how the parents involved their small children in the work, and the family even welcomed a new baby during the process! Based on the author's family and their experiences.

[Hannah Gies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this even better than "This is My Home, This is My School". I know it's not about my family, but I teared up reading as I imagined how special this would be to his family!

[Michelle Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute story written from the oldest child's perspective on the building of their home. It was based on a family's true life events (though the timeline was sped up to 18 months instead of the 5 years it truly took for the parents to construct the home). My kids and I enjoyed this story.

[Jessica Moden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Level: 2nd Grade
This book is about the process of a family building their new house; the illustrations are able to give more to the story line than the content itself. The illustrations show the progress of the house, along with the growing population of the family. There is a cat incorporated in the story on every page and towards the end she has kittens, just as the mother, who gets pregnant and has a baby. Nowhere in the text did it mention the kittens or baby being born. This book ends with the family living in their fully completed house, with kittens everywhere. The illustrations in this book were well detailed with a lot going on, on every page, more than just simply what the story was talking about. This book was well thought through and very informative on the process of what it takes to build a house on the countryside. This book gives children the chance to be apart of a construction process without being on the job site. It gives the description of what tools and steps to take will building a house. This book would be great to have for the children that are interested in doing things with their hands, providing them interest in reading.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A somewhat unique story (in our day, anyway) of a family building a house, based on the author's memories of his parents building a home when he was a small child. As I was reading for the first time, I kept wondering when the story was set -- the time period seemed more current, but to stake out a homestead and build a house "on your own" is not exactly common. Strong sense of family -- everybody pitches in, even the kids. I appreciated the author's note at the end with photos that explained the basis for the story.

Nicely done, illustrations are bold and add details to the story that wouldn't be gleaned from just reading the text. My favorite page is the double spread, set at night, where the father "sets the corners of the foundation by the North Star." The text and illustration work beautifully there. I also like noticing in the illustrations the mother's pregnancy developing over time, to be followed, eventually, by a new baby in her arms.

Great for handing to kids wanting "building" books!


3 starred reviews (2.21.13): Kirkus, SLJ & Hornbook

[Marathon County Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cozy picture book shows the year-and-a-half long construction process involved in building a house, from moving into a trailer to live until the house is done, picking out the site, consulting the blueprints, digging the basement, raising the frame, and working in all types of weather. Mom and Dad both work on the house while the children play and “help”. This is a realistic picture of how much work and planning it takes to construct a house. Illustrations are realistic, sweet and cozy and include lots of tools and machines. The final illustration is my favorite: a very tired family sitting on the couch reading to their children (and cat) on the first night in their new home. This book is based on the author’s experience of his parents building their house when he was a child.

Sharyn H. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

[Jim Erekson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would call this informational biography. The story is drawn from Bean's life, although his narrator is the unnamed little girl. Heavy nostalgia permeates the entire telling, making building your own home with no other place to live seem like the most idyllic thing any family could do. It draws on a tradition of this theme that reaches out to the Little House books, Walden, and others. The cartoon outlines give the book a graphic novel feel, or Virginia Lee Burton.

Bean controls the pacing by breaking up the spreads into 1, 2, 4, 6 sections. Just when things are really complicated in six sections, the next double is a wide expanse of one picture and one text block again, slowing things down for a long visual experience. Right in the center of the story is a great reproduction of a blueprint. There is a gentle complementary narrative running through the illustrations if you watch the kids, the pets, and the mom. So while the text is almost completely corresponding to the pictures, the pictures offer a little more.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technically this is a picture storybook, but I'm putting it on my nonfiction shelf because it has tons of interesting information. A kid describes each step as his family builds a house, from laying pipes to bring the water to digging out the basement and pouring the foundation to notching the lumber so the boards fit tightly. Love seeing both mom and dad working with tools.

I'm not sure how many houses are built by family and friends in a frame-raising party, but the process of how to build a house was fascinating and will engage certain hands-on kids.

[Florian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This unique children's book outlines the process of building a house. The family is intimately involved in every process, from the design to construction.

House building is entirely foreign to me, a lifelong city dweller who comes from a family of not so handy people, so this story was fascinating in its depiction of construction from scratch.

This would be an excellent book for young people interested in architecture and construction, or for those who want to know where their house came from.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely mix of the practical details ("The concrete and rock will shape the foundation that will support the frame and make for a solid house.") true for all building projects, along with the lyrical ("One wall will face north to ward off the wind, one east to welcome the morning...") that make this into one particular family's story.

The Author's Note and family photos are not to be missed.

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book because this would also be my dream - to move to the country and build our own house. The illustrations are charming (check each page for the white cat)and detailed. I also love that it's based on the author's family and shows real photographs of his family during their home-building experience. My 5-year-old is really digging this book.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading this for Thom's picture book illustration class makes me love it even more. I love the large format of the book and small format of many of the sections of pages; the evolution of the house and the narrator, and the mother's pregnancy. What isn't to love about this brilliant, wonderful story?

[Kathy Ellen Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.
Loved this book!
Maybe because my Dad's a carpenter?
Maybe because it's the whole life cycle of building a house?
Maybe it doesn't matter.

I just love it!

Haiku Review:

My family arrives
with plans, and hands to do work.
This will be our home.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story about a couple who build their own timber-frame home in the country. They do get occasional help from others, but do most of the work themselves. Bean's watercolor illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the story. Would be a good choice for a story time about homes.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at Builders and Diggers Preschool Story Time on 5/3/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Jack & Lily Wills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun read - lots of things going on that the kids were interested in, and lots of little details throughout. Very enjoyable!

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book. So so sweet and made me cry.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and fun, if a little long, story about how one family built their house on a farm. Loved the pictures!

Mia’s Year of Books: Day 185