Demolition by Sally Sutton

Demolition

by Sally Sutton

What’s even more exciting to young kids than seeing big machines that build things? Watching the massive ones that tear them down!

Crush the stone. Crush the stone. Chip and grind and munch. Make new concrete from the old. Whirr! Churr! Crunch! From the huge crane with a swinging ball (crack!) to the toothy jaws that ram the walls (thwock!), this rambunctious demolition, reverberating with sound words, is guaranteed to have small kids rapt. Bright spreads showcase the gargantuan machines in all their glory, and a pictorial glossary explains what each one can do.

Reviewed by violetpeanut on

5 of 5 stars

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From my 5 year old son Ben:
It was good! I would give it 10 stars! I liked reading about the construction site because I like construction. I liked how they painted the pictures.

From my 2 year old son Eli:
He kept repeating the sounds from each page (Rip! Roar!, etc) and laughing and he kept pointing at the trucks on each page. After we were done he had fun flipping through the pages on his own.

From me:
This was a really fun book about the demolition of an old building so a new playground can be built in its place. I read it aloud to my 5 year old (Ben) and my 2 year old. The author did a fantastic job of choosing words and sounds that really appeal to young readers. For example:
"Work the jaws. Work the jaws.
Bite and tear and slash.
Dinosaurs had teeth like this!
Rip! Roar! Crash!

It was a lot of fun to read aloud and make the sounds.

The illustrations are bright and bold and are double-page spreads so the various vehicles really take center stage. My 2 year old loved that. This also makes it a great book to read with multiple children on your lap or to a group as everyone can see easily.

At first my 5 year old just liked that there was demolition going on. Then, when he saw the playground at the end he realized that there was an actual progression of events. We re-read it and he really understood - at least in a child's terms - the steps to demolish the building and clear the space for a new playground. It started a whole conversation about reusing materials and land.

Overall, we really enjoyed this one. My 5 year old and 2 year old both enjoyed it. It was detailed enough to entertain my older son while the noises and bright colors really caught my 2 year old's attention. Highly recommended - especially for boys.

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  • 22 December, 2012: Reviewed