Tonka, Building the Skyscraper (Tonka, Trucks Storybooks)

Rating:
Summary: great book, for 4 to 6 year olds
Review: My kids can't get enough trucks, truck books, construction videos... you get the idea. We've read practically everything out there for toddlers, which is all pretty much the same - loaders, cranes, backhoes, loaders, cranes, backhoes. Frankly, they've advanced beyond simple descriptions of machines. So it was refreshing to find this book which is loaded with information about how a tall building is built. It tells the story from start to finish, from the surveyors at the beginning, the welders in the middle, the utility workers at the end and lots of machines throughout. One caveat: this is NOT a "baby-preschool" book. It is really for 4 - 6 year olds (possibly even older) or preschoolers who are ready to jump a level of sophistication. For example, it explains the difference between the live load and the dead load that the building must support, and why steel frames allow people to build so high. Lots of big words are used without introduction, like architect and pyramid. My almost 4-year-olds get it, but they wouldn't have a year ago. If you are looking for a different type of construction book, or need to provide your young child with new, more advanced construction info, this will fit the bill.