Let's Go to the Hardware Store

by Anne Rockwell, Melissa Iwai (Illustrator)

When the new house needs fixing up, it's off to the hardware store to find the tools and materials needed to get the job done―a hammer, a screwdriver, a shiny tape measure, and even a stepladder.

This family outing explores a familiar errand that fascinates plenty of young the hardware store. Anne Rockwell's perfectly pitched story and Melissa Iwai's child-friendly illustrations make this book ideal for the preschool audience.

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

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 22, 2016

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

When his family moves into a new house that (according to Mom) needs some fixing up, the young boy narrator, together with his sister and father, heads to the local hardware store. There the trio explore the many different kinds of products available, slowly amassing all the supplies they will need to make their home improvements...

I cannot say, all told, that Let's Go to the Hardware Store is a book I would have been likely to pick up, were it not one of the featured titles at a picture-book event I attended, but having done so, I found it engaging and fun. Anne Rockwell is a prolific children's author, who often explores the day-to-day events in children's lives, from going to the supermarket to attending kindergarten. In this story, the reader gets to experience a variety of interesting items to be found in a hardware store. The accompanying artwork by Melissa Iwai highlights the different items discussed in the story - varieties of hammer, types of screwdriver - and adds to the sense of fun. All in all, an entertaining little book, one I would recommend to those looking for lighthearted picture-books about tools and do-it-yourself endeavors.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all the kids that love learning about tools and construction, this book is perfect. It's not a great book for a crowd, but one-on-one it would be a wonderful book to share. I loved that there were pictures of the different types of tools that explained what each one was used for. Really great concept and execution!

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Demystify the tools in your child's life! This straightforward account of a trip to a hardware store provides simple illustrations of tools, matter-of-fact explanations, and a child's-eye perspective on the delights of hardware. Bonus points go to the inclusion of a breastfeeding parent, looking so normal and unremarkable.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that it was portrayed as an independent hardware store and not the typical orange or blue hardware stores we're all familiar with. Kids would definitely be familiar with the process of going through the hardware store. Love the concept. Not sure I know of another picture book about this outing.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always Rockwell can turn a rather boring subject into a fun family learning time and this time its at the hardware store with Dad buying tools to fix projects in their new home.

[Jennifer Strong · Rating 3 out of 5]

A family of five has just moved into a bigger house, but the new house needs some fixing up. Daddy can do it by himself, but he needs the proper tools. So off the the hardware store the boy, his daddy, and sister Flora go! While there they get various tools needed to fix the crack in the ceiling, fix the screen door, and put up new kitchen shelves. Back at home, mom reminds them that they forgot picture hangers so they must return to the hardware store (they aren't disappointed by that).

The little boy recounts his hardware store visit as the narrator. As they select each tool the illustrations include a picture and label of the various types of that particular tool to choose from. Also, the illustrations include people of all different sizes, ages, races, and genders. The main family is bi-racial and the mom breastfeeds in one of the pictures. I like that these elements are part of the story. I like that the dad didn't only take his son, but that he also took his daughter on the errand (and that both children were portrayed enjoying their time at the hardware store).

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

First question - WHY doesn't this family already own a hammer? Or a screwdriver? Sure, it's nice to have *new* tools, but a screwdriver is something you generally replace right away if the head is too worn or the handle breaks. Because you will NEED IT.
Second question - why didn't they go over the different types of saws, like they did with the hammers and screwdrivers and nails? Everything else got a cool diagram, but no love for the saws.
This is still a great book for introducing kiddos to tools and the fun of building with them, but there could have been improvements made.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hardware stores are fascinating places for people of all ages. This is a great book to introduce kids to the hardware store and some of the most common tools that they'll see there (or at home). It's a great way to introduce new and interesting vocabulary too like spackle, ball-peen hammer, hook-and-eye latch. My one fault with it is that it didn't identify the various saws like it did with other tools.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A awesome book with lots of vocabulary words children may not be familiar with. Nice labeled pictures so readers can increase their knowledge of everything found in a small hardware store. Loved the illustration that was like a map from the family's home to the hardware store and one of the buildings is a library!!

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the process of moving to a new house, a family must go to the hardware store for tools and such. I definitely identified with this family as they are sidetracked and end up forgetting the one thing mama requested! I appreciated that tools are named as they are put in the cart for purchase, and I think kids will enjoy knowing the names of these items as well.

[Christie Angleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many things to love about this book - not least of which are the interracial family and the breastfeeding mommy!

[jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned what a brad is and the mom is breastfeeding at the end! Great book about tools.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm surprised Daddy doesn't have most of these tools already.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

While we inundate our twos and threes with adolescent Disney princesses and the like, long ago I remember delighting in my mother reading to me from "The Here and Now Story Book." Written by Lucy Sprague Mitchell, a renowned educator who founded what later became the progressive Bank Street School (and was a fascinating person), it stemmed from the belief that what very young children need and will delight in is stories about REAL things, stories about everyday happenings they can identify with. Typical were stories about Mary riding the bus into town to go to a big store with her mother, or how the "singing water" got to a little boy's bathtub, and how a little immigrant boy homesick for his island home learns that he is still living on an island in NYC.

I bring this up because Anne Rockwell's books hold the same delight for young children. I remember reading "At the Beach" and "Apples and Pumpkins" over and over again when my daughters were little, and they still delight kids at story hours today. So it's always a pleasure to get a new Rockwell book, and this one is an experience that many kids will understand in these days of DIY, complete with a parent getting distracted from getting the one item they actually needed.


This series lacks the lovely "little red haired girl" illustrations once offered by Rockwell's husband, Harlow, and later by her daughter (the original red haired girl) Lizzie, but Melissa Iwai's illustrations have their own charm, with an apparently bi-racial family (Dad is blond, Mom looks Asian), and the carpenter's apron model looks a lot like Obama.

In sum, a welcome break from the mass media crap and the hipster books clearly being sold to mom and dad, not kids. Thanks, Mrs Rockwell, for this one and all the other books kids love.

[Meagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, as did my 1st grader. The book weaves together the story of a family who recently bought a house that needs some repairs with practical information that young kids can understand- specifically the common tools that parents use for home improvement, such as the two types of screwdrivers and many different hammers. The variety was pleasant and digestible. The illustrations were cute. The reader doesn't witness the parents repairing the house, but we do go shopping with Dad and the kids at the hardware store (hence the title) while Mom stays home with the baby, and so there's that sense of adventure that kids feel when visiting a new place.

(As a homeowner, I secretly envied how simple the repairs were- broken hinges, a small crack in the ceiling, etc.)

I think I might have enjoyed a slightly longer book with a few more tools, and maybe thicker outlines in the illustrations.

[Liv Mothershead · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrator's family moves into a new home and needs to make some repairs. The dad takes the kids to the hardware store to get supplies for the repairs. The book examines each item, starting with the hammer. There is a small diagram for most of the items with different variations of them. The book also mentions what the tools will be used for. After they get home, the mom tells them that they forgot picture hangers, so off they go to the hardware store again. Behind the dust jacket, the actual cover of the book shows the hardware store and the town.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved that this book showed an interracial family and referenced a family moving (a big transaction for young children!). I really, really love it when children’s books have a more simple main story and then an optional extra opt-in section on the page in smaller print that you can choose to explore if the child is older, particularly interested in the topic, or you’ve read the book several times and want to dig deeper. This book has several such sections where they show different tools along with their names. I learned several new names of different tools myself!

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young family moves to a bigger house that needs repairs, so the daddy and his two children go to the hardware store to get things he needs. The mommy had said not to forget the picture hangers, and they're happy about all the things they got until mommy looks for the one thing she asked for. Oops!

Nice illustrations and descriptions of different types of nails, hammers, and other things found in a hardware store.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice family story with a hardware/DIY focus. Love how the tools are labeled at the bottom of each page and how, of course, they forgot the one thing mom asked them to pick up! Also love how it's a neighborhood store, not a big box store. Not sure how they think a hook & eye latch will secure a screen door? and is the black & white dog theirs or their neighbor's? Be sure to check out the case cover art.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moving into a new house is a big change. It can be fun or scary, but also comes with opportunities to fix things up exactly as you like them, and that means a trip to the hardware store — and sometimes more than one! Two siblings accompany dad to pick up some handy house-fixing supplies and learn about hammers and screwdrivers and other tools. In a simple, everyday story, this book takes the reader on a short tour of the fun to be found in the hardware store.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of the story is a common occurance in family life - a trip to the hardware store. I like the explicit language in the text and the drawings at the bottom of each page that show each kind of tool mentioned in the text with a label. So many students these days do not know the names of these items. I would purchase this for younger students.

[Eliot Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trip to the hardware store, which is “filled with such interesting and handy things,” turns into a quick review of different types of popular tools. Full of detailed illustrations, helpful explanations, and a very realistic ending: they forget something and have to go back to the store!

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked all the descriptions of the tools and what they're used for, and using a move to a new house as a plot to examine all the tools is both clever and relatable. Plus the very realistic moment of forgetting something and having to go back!

[Kimberly]

1 sentence per page. About a biracial family that moves into a new home that needs fixing up so the dad and the kids go to the hardware store and choose new tools. Good at showing kids the different types of tools in a hardware store. Promotes family closeness and fixing things yourself.

[Ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: When the new house needs fixing up, Daddy takes us to the hardware store. We get a hammer and screwdrivers, a shiny steel tape measure, and even a stepladder - so Daddy can fix the crack in the ceiling. We get everything we need ... well, almost. -- inside left jacket flap

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of information about tools presented in an interesting, accessible way for young readers.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute for kids who like tools and learning about what each of them do!

[Emily Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun story for kids to learn about tools and what you can do with them. Illustrations work well with the text and add understanding.
Picture Book

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

classic.

[Mrs Tupac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute family oriented book :)