'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Tuesday 24 January 2017

Review: Demolition

Demolition is a book by Sally Sutton and Brian Lovelock, the team that created Construction.

Spend a day with a demolition crew, experiencing their preparations (getting dressed in books, hats and safety jackets), demolishing a building in stages, hosing the site down, and removing the rubble.
After the demolition, something new springs from the land that previously held the ruins, and it's a bright children's playground.

Demolition is well designed, with an excellent large, bold typeface, and simple, yet recognisable illustrations of trucks and diggers. What I love just as much is the text, which has repetition and explores the idea of sounds which is brilliant for young children developing their language skills.

Here's an excerpt that's a great example: 'Work the jaws. Work the jaws. Bite and tear and slash. Dinosaurs had teeth like this! Rip! Roar! Crash!' The picture of the vehicle tearing down the walls of a building really does look a lot like a dinosaur's mouth ripping away at it.

As a board book, Demolition is perfect for the youngest of readers who are entranced by construction vehicles.

Title: Demolition
Author: Sally Sutton
Illustrator: Brian Lovelock
Publisher: Walker Books, $15.99
Publication Date: 2013
Format: Board book
ISBN:9781922077196
For ages: 1 - 4 years
Type: Picture Book