Toolbox Twins

by Lola M. Schaefer

Join in the fun with this father-son fix-it team Vincent and his daddy are a fix-it team. One by one they use the trusty tools in their toolboxes—from hammers and nails to saws and shears—and make repairs around the house. Engaging rhymes and playful illustrations introduce young children to the popular subject of tools and the concept of making broken things new again.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Construction, Storytime

Hardcover

First published August 22, 2006

About the author

Lola M. Schaefer is an educator, writer, and gardener, and the author of many acclaimed books for children about math, art, science, technology, animals, and nature. She uses shovels, hoes, rakes, and scissors when she works in her garden. Lola M. Shaefer grew up in Indiana, and now lives in northern Georgia.

Reviews

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like this were it not for the weirdly gender specific ideas it seems to subconsciously present. (Mom is seen in the background of some pages always involved in childcare or dishes, while dad fixes things. Womp womp.)

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that the dad and boy work together to fix things. I really wish the mom was doing more than watching the baby and doing dishes, though.

Good for preschool and toddler storytimes.

[Courtney Canino]

Toolbox Twins by Lola M. Schaefer is a childrens picture book that is best for early childhood readers. The main characters in this book are Vincent and his dad. The setting of this book is around the house inside and out, where Vincent and his dad live. The plot of the story is that Vincent and his dad both have matching toolboxes and they fix things around the house that are not working correctly. When they fix them they also include the sounds they make while fixing them. The main ideas of this story are to spend time with your father and do not be afraid to fix something. I would recommend this book because it is interesting to see house sounds are being represented. My personal reaction was that I thought it was darling how there was a message to spend time with your family in this book.

Concluding Statement: Spending time with your family is important.

[Ariel Pritts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great kids book. My 3 year old loves it, and has memorized it. It’s easy to memorize because it has a great flow! She loved it so much when we got it from the library, that we bought a copy for her.
Edit: Now she’s 6, and it’s still a favorite of hers. We’ve had to tape pages back in place because the copy we have was a bit beaten up when we got it. She loves tools and getting her toolbox out with me or dad. My little engineer loves to use her tools, and it’s hands down because of this cute little book.

[Jessica Vu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun book by Lola Schaefer. Many students,especially boys can relate to this book and girls can boost about the person in their home who fixes everything. Thus, a self-to-text lesson would be great for this book.
It has some fun rhyming
It can be read in science when discussing simple machines

[babyhippoface · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vincent and his daddy both have toolboxes. They use their hammers, awls, levels, saws, pliers and more to fix things around the house.

I read this to PreK when they were learning about tools. It's okay, but I probably won't borrow it from the public library next year. They liked Chris Monroe's picture book about Chico Bon Bon, Monkey with a Tool Belt, much better. (Who wouldn't?)

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son Loves this book! My husband is our Mr. Fix it, and our son loves helping him, so seeing this father/son fixing things around the house intrigues him. He likes that Vincent has his own toolbox and tools, just like his daddy. I like the use of the tools' names and sounds they make in the rhymes. My son likes to look at the pictures of the tools and see how they use them to fix things.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute rhymes, lots of little projects for Vincent and Dad to work on together. Mom's in the background with a baby in a couple of scenes. I'm on the lookout for similar books with less predictable gender roles, but this world is what lots of kids will see at home.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 4 out of 5]

2* art
4* story

Squirt just loves this book because, of course, he has a toolbox and daddy has one too.