Tool School

May 15, 2017
Holub and Dean, the team behind Mighty Dads, hammer home a message of cooperation in a story about five tools that learn to work together. After each tool—a hammer, pair of pliers, saw, screw driver, and tape measure—introduces itself, it’s off to school, where their independent building projects don’t work out until they combine their skills. There’s nothing wrong with the premise or theme, but the story falls flat. Holub’s rhymes are often halfhearted and obvious (“Know what you need? It could save the day:/ Cooperation. Say it now, okay?”) with uneven rhythms, and Dean doesn’t capitalize on the excitement that tools and construction hold for many kids. With their small smiles, static poses, and half-lidded eyes, his dashed-off tools barely look like they’re awake, let alone engaged in what they’re doing. Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Liza Voges, Eden Street Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Deborah Warren, East West Literary.

June 1, 2017
Five tools--Hammer, Screwdriver, Tape Measure, Pliers, and Saw--go to school for the first time to learn to build on their skills.After a rhyming introduction for each tool, they board the bus and are on their way to meet their teacher, Ms. Drill. Dean's tool characters sport eyes, sometimes glasses or eyelashes (if female), and some have simple, line mouths. Their classroom has many of the same things kids will see on their own first days--desks, crayons, cubbies, scissors, pencils--and the activities are much the same as well: doing puzzles, decorating name tags, singing rhymes and songs. It's when the building starts that the trouble begins. Each tool tries to make his or her own project, and none of them can complete anything alone. Ms. Drill says, "Working by yourself can be fun galore. / But sometimes a job takes two or more. / Know what you need? It could save the day: / COOPERATION. Say it now, okay?" The tools dutifully chime in, work together, and build a tool box. A spread of tool tips, focusing on safety and picking the right tool for each job, rounds out the book. Uninspiring, pedestrian rhymes and didacticism plague this effort, and the tools have expressions that are limited to happy or sad: up- or downturned mouths or open or half-closed eyes. Doesn't measure up. (Picture book. 3-7)

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August 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-The characters of this brief, rhyming tale head to school on their very first day. Their destination is Tool School, presenting five young personified tools-Hammer, Screwdriver, Pliers, Saw, and Tape Measure-experimenting with their skills and finding their way around a builder's classroom. Cartoon illustrations feature their wide-eyed excitement for learning, frustration as they try to work independently for the first time, and cubbies filled with enough wood, cardboard, screws, nails, glue, and clamps to satisfy their every experiment. Young readers unfamiliar with basic tools will find an introduction to each character, a description of the tool's purpose, and how each works. Led by their teacher Ms. Drill, the tools practice safety and skills, working first alone and then learning together to explore the value of cooperation. Text includes a bit of onomatopoeia-the sounds of constructing a toolbox-while speech bubbles highlight a busy conversation. A final spread presents "Cool Tool Tips" and the reminder to work with a grown-up and wear safety goggles. VERDICT A must-read for budding makers in all libraries, measuring up to the need for early introduction to creative tools, and entertainingly illustrated for the very young.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
A hammer, screwdriver, pliers, saw, and tape measure attend school in this rollicking rhyming book ("We may be small, but our skills are cool. / Let's go build on them at our new school!"). After trial and error, the tools learn to cooperate and build something useful: a toolbox. Playful verse combines well with Dean's signature bright illustrative style, giving the tools personality and spunk.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)