Kirkus Reviews Best Book
NCTE Notable Poetry Book
Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year
"(This) brilliant anthology (is) an example that shows poetry can be about anything and for everyone." —The Boston Globe
★ "Fourteen poems capture a skyscraper's construction, from beginning to completion, in vivid detail. Apart from enjoying jaunty rhymes that scan well and include numerous delightful turns of phrase, readers gain insight into the many workers who collaborate on a new building's successful, safe skyward climb. Lively, appealing artwork grounds this collection... (a) lovely foundation for forays into poetry and for building a love of buildings." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Hopkins, a prolific anthologist who died last year, pulls together the story of a construction site through simple poems about its workers: the backhoe operator, the dump truck drivers, the glaziers and electricians. The real pleasure belongs to the sturdy utilitarian magic of engineering as captured by Shi’s illustrations and Hopkins’s step-by-step selection." —The New York Times Book Review
"Hopkins compiles fourteen poems that collectively pay tribute to the workers, from architects to glaziers and welders and plumbers, who raise up the high rises on our skylines. (M)ost contributions... offer rewarding aesthetics while varying in poetic style. Shi’s digital illustrations, textured and painterly, offer details of each featured job from ground up. With the flexibility for reading silently or aloud, solo or with a group, this collection will have broad audience appeal." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"This anthology from the late Hopkins collects 14 verses from a range of poets that celebrate and educate on the many roles, tools, and processes vital to the construction of a building—in this case, a skyscraper. It’s a wonderfully comprehensive bunch, with Shi’s illustrations capturing each step of the collaboration. Each spread bears a single poem, often making use of rhythm, rhyme, and onomatopoeia—though the verses eschew silliness in favor of wonder, respect, and information. This poetry collection works as a literacy tool for early elementary groups, a natural launchpad for writing prompts, or a more involved introduction to the world of construction." —Booklist
"This compilation of 14 poems, assembled by the late Hopkins, is an ode to the diverse types of people that are needed to erect a building. Fittingly, the poems feature many different poets’ voices. Readers...move through the stages of construction, from the architect’s musings to the backhoe operator that digs the foundation, to the glaziers that add the windows. Shi’s design and artwork employ a muted color scheme (browns and blues) to capture the dirt and sky. Pops of color (a red bucket, a welder’s orange uniform) encourage the eye to dance across the page as the skyscraper grows. The depictions of the workers include a variety of genders and races, which makes the book feel warm and inclusive. Recommended." — School Library Journal
03/01/2020
PreS-Gr 4—This compilation of 14 poems, assembled by the late Hopkins, is an ode to the diverse types of people that are needed to erect a building. Fittingly, the poems feature many different poets' voices. Rebecca Kai Dotlich's opening and closing poems bookend the reading experience ("What Will I Become?" and "What I Am"). The work opens with the building thinking about its future, knowing only that it "will rise." A close-up view of the plans for Hopkins Towers accompanies the text. Readers then move through the stages of construction, from the architect's musings to the backhoe operator that digs the foundation, to the glaziers that add the windows. Most of the poems focus on the "construction people," their thoughts, feelings, and specialized knowledge as they conduct their jobs. Dotlich's poems do not fit this narrative theme: they take on the voice of the building. Similarly, Ralph Fletcher's "Cement Speaks" provides the cement's perspective on the construction process. Shi's design and artwork employ a muted color scheme (browns and blues) to capture the dirt and sky. Pops of color (a red bucket, a welder's orange uniform) encourage the eye to dance across the page as the skyscraper grows. The depictions of the workers include a variety of genders and races, which makes the book feel warm and inclusive. VERDICT This is the prolific Hopkins's last collection of poetry and a high-interest topic for young people. It will surely attract attention. Recommended.—Shannon O'Connor, Unami Middle School, Chalfont, PA
★ 2019-12-08
Fourteen poems capture a skyscraper’s construction, from beginning to completion, in vivid detail.
In the first verse, by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, the nascent high-rise, narrating from an empty lot, excitedly contemplates its future: the workers and materials its construction will entail and how it will eventually ascend to lofty heights; in the last, also by Dotlich, the finished structure proudly announces its presence on the “spectacular skyline.” The remaining robust poems, each by a different contributor and presented on double-page spreads, describe the various skilled jobs and professionals involved in a skyscraper’s planning and building and also—take note, vehicle mavens—the trucks required at a construction site. Apart from enjoying jaunty rhymes that scan well and include numerous delightful turns of phrase, readers gain insight into the many workers who collaborate on a new building’s successful, safe skyward climb. Additionally, children will build their vocabularies with nifty words like “glaziers” and “welders.” Onomatopoeia is used to good, dramatic effect where applicable. Lively, appealing artwork grounds this collection: Many of its action-filled illustrations also highlight verticals and horizontals. Women are well represented throughout as skilled, busy professionals in various nonstereotypical or supervisory positions. Workers are depicted with varied skin tones, hairstyles, and racial presentations, including the female Asian architect and her daughter, recurring characters. Endpapers are rich ocher, the color of soil.
A lovely foundation for forays into poetry and for building a love of buildings. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)
