Building Our House

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 show more 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. show less

I used to work at a library and had the habit of ordering any and all books that might catch my interest. I still keep the library catalog page close to hand. I think I saw some Jonathan Bean illustrations on Pinterest, and borrowed a few titles to see whether he lived up to the couple of illustrations I'd seen. This was by far the best. There is a type of picture book that always attracts - I wish it had a name. It starts with a long landscape shot and documents changes to the scenery over time. This is the technique Mr. Bean chose to tell the true story of his parents building their own house back in the 80's. Yes, they were back-to-the-landers. The house is a post and beam structure. He alternates the long shots with close ups of the show more work and the interior, and then finishes up with a few photos and a note giving a few more family details. This is a great book about family, work, home, community.
I might need to own it. show less

Absolutely charming. A lovely story of a family creating their homestead. Lots of wonderful construction details, it reminds me a bit of the Richard Scarry book where the bunny’s house is built.

This is a very engaging picture book. According to the back matter, the author drew from his family's experience of building a house. While the number of families who build their own house is probably not large, there are probably many children who experience the disruption (and fun as I remember it) of construction.
The author gives us the chronology from beginning to end. The language is simple. Yet, there is a wealth of details in the pictures. The mother's pregnancy and resulting new baby are only told by looking carefully at the pictures.
A wonderful book to share and embellish with conversation.

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/19586707-november-2018-boston-globe-horn-bo...

This book is based on the author Jonathan Bean's childhood. The detailed description of building his parent's home in the country is mesmerizing. At the back of the book, he includes some great photos of the actual building process. I loved this book. The text is simple and the illustrations give depth to the plot.

This is a unique books. The author/illustrator uses his family history about building their own home in this picture book. When you read the author's notes, you find the actual event was much more of an adventure than the book. Betsy Bird of SLJ's Fuse8 blog suggests this as a possible 2014 Caldecott nominee. Although a worthy purchase for a library, I didn't like as well as she did, other than the unique story. I always like Bean's illustrations.