This book is a great way to teach students about being an active part of a community. Two children initiate their family's involvement in helping to build homes for others in need while they themselves are living with little. When the community comes together they are able to do so much more. These children expect nothing in return, but share a hope that others will do the same. ( )

This story was a story about a Hispanic family who volunteers to built houses and soon gets their own. One part of the story I enjoyed was the essence of hard work the author portrayed to the reader. For example, as the characters are building house for other people they have a sense of hope that one of the house they work on will be their own one-day. The author also talks about how one of the sisters may be too young to work in the house but can help pass out lemonade to workers to help everyone.
I also liked how the story leaves you wanting to know more information about the family. For example, the author leads you through the story about a family who dreams of having a beautiful home but at the end you do not get to see their new home. The author leaves you knowing they get a new home but not any details of the home besides what the family says they want. This allows the reader to be creative about what the family’s home will be like in the future.
The big idea from this story is that your dreams my come true with hard work. The family wants a new home and volunteers working on other homes in hope that one will eventually be theirs to keep. All the hard work on the other homes, the families finally get the news that the next home will be theirs. ( )

Summary: "A Castle on Viola Street" tells the story of a family of five who live in a small apartment. They join a organization where they help restore old houses for families and one day they will help restore a home for themselves. The family all work together to help restore a house for another family and soon after they get the news that they will get the next house that everyone helps restore.

Review: The central message of this story is that "big dreams are built little by little, and we have made a start." This is a quote from the father in regards to the process of getting and restoring a home for his family. The story starts off by explaining how owning a home is a dream for the family and the family joining the organization and helping restore homes was a start for making this dream come true. I liked how this story showed readers that big dreams may not happen in an instance but they built little by little. This is a realistic connection readers can make with the story because the family did not just receive a house instantly but little by little they worked to make it a reality. This is something many people will have to do to make their big dreams a reality. ( )

This was an amazing book built around the concept of Habitat for Humanity. It is the story of a family who lived in a tiny house that became involved in Habitat through building another family’s house and volunteering. In the end, they received their own house that was big enough for their family. This story was reflective of the theme of hard work and makes readers realize that sometimes the best things in life are not earned through money: they are earned through hard work and dedication. This book also relates well to readers who are low on the socio-economic totem pole. It helps readers feel better about themselves and gives them hope that they too may one day have a home of their own. Additionally, this book stresses the importance of volunteering and giving back. Even though the family in the book received a house, they also helped build other houses. The last sentence of the book states, “Big dreams are built little by little, and we have made a start.” This was an amazing book that captures the lives of those less fortunate, while stressing the importance of family, non-materialistic goods, and hard work. ( )

This book was fairly entertaining and it gave a great explanation for Habitat for Humanity and other such organizations. The story was fun and simple and kept the focus on the house construction aspect. I liked it and would happily add it to my own collection. ( )