Hmmm, do you think the author might do it again sometime?) Man! I might have driven the two hours to attend with my book in hand. So I found out on his blog that the author lives in Harrisburg, PA, and had an open house at THE house from the book. I really do wonder if, for Ben, this is one of those books that really captures his imagination in a great, great way.
It doesn't scream out patriotism, but it does imbibe the pioneer spirit that is oh-so-wonderfully American. I love that the Times fit Building Our Home in among two other books about America. The New York Times rightly praised this book last week, read it here, (I should be reading this week's paper instead of typing this.). A house-a home-was built, and that's what the author remembers. I'm glad he admits to fictionalizing his childhood a bit, lest we dreamers get any crazy ideas to build our own homes in a year or two.īut we who are lucky only remembers the good times from childhood. He lauds the "wise love of two parents, the companionship of three sisters, and a practically lived faith." He also says that in real life the house didn't take just 18 months like in the book.
Bean shares six pictures of his family constructing "the Bean Homestead" that he helped build and then grew up in. The last pages of the book, after the story is complete, is the wonderful Author's Note. Everyone pitches in then, and for the moving in party at the end of the book. You never know.")īut this year the first frost arrives early.īut more people are needed to build this house, of course, and they throw a frame-raising party where extended family comes to help as well as workers from the quarry and sawmill. "Dad lays the rocks one on top another while we fill the loud mixing machine." Later, Grandpa visits with his backhoe (Ben: "Does Grand-Dad have a backhoe, Mommy?" Me, thinking of how my father doesn't even have a tool box: "I don't think so, Ben, but we can call and ask. Each page shows them working hard, together. His core family-at the beginning of the book, four people, but by the end there's an additional baby-is the work crew. Based on the true story of his parents moving out to the country and building their own home with the help of all kids big enough to wield a hammer, Jonathan Bean writes a simple tale of building his family's home. I think there's a little pile of Ben drool still there.Īnyway, this book is a gem. Or maybe he's just trying to shove the pictures in his brain through osmosis he fell asleep with his head on the last page of this book. Can one children's book do that? I sure do think so. Here is a book that has the potential to stay in his head and work its magic through childhood and into adulthood.
Everyone in our house likes this book, but Ben is the most smitten.
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