What Can You See? On a Construction Site

This board book shows how a new school is built.

Designed for little readers who are curious about the construction process beyond merely vehicles that dig, this book depicts the destruction of a school, the completion of the new one, and much more in between. The text covers everything from safety rules to just how long it can take to construct a new building. There are also engaging questions presented to readers, such as “Can you see a little mouse?” and “Can you find a wheelbarrow down low?” The text is explanatory and includes potentially new vocabulary in a seamless way. The book features “peek-through pages,” as the cover describes it—cutouts that allow readers to see all the way to the end, each page turn revealing more details. While at times the cutouts skew the perspective of the construction site, they are mostly successful. The illustrations include just the right amount of detail, encouraging readers to linger. They depict information that is not stated in the text but that is essential to the story. For example, readers will note the seasons changing from page to page. The site crew features people with varying skin tones and hairstyles and, refreshingly, includes women construction workers.

A blueprint for engaging readers and satisfying their curiosity. (Board book. 2-4)—Kirkus