Ready, Set, Build!

by Meg Fleming, Mr. Jarvis (Illustrator)

Grab your hard hat and get ready for a day of construction fun with a busy builder and his friend, now available as a Mini Bee Board Book!

Grab your hard hat, tie your boots.

Pack your lunch. Ready? Scoot!

Sketch a dream. Post a chart.

Hatch the plan before you start.

Get ready for a day full of construction fun! Children can follow a busy dog builder as he sketches and plans his dream, clears rubble to make space, and gets to work digging, lifting, and sawing. Now even the youngest of readers can enjoy building with a busy dog! This playful and imaginative story is now available as a Mini Bee Board Book!

Genres: Picture Books, Construction, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Dogs, Birds

26 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Meg Fleming is an award-winning children’s book author, a fan of all dogs and a big-time laugher. Also, a voice teacher, Meg draws on her love of rhythm, rhyme, and lyricism to create and imagine stories.

Meg is the author of Sounds Like School Spirit (illus. Lucy Ruth Cummins), which landed the #1 spot of The Today Show’s list of Best Back-to-School books, Sometimes Rain (illus. Diana Sudyka), an ALA Top 10 Picture Book for Sustainability, I Heart You (illus. Sarah Jane Wright), a Children’s Fiction Honoree Winner from the Society of Midland Authors, Ready, Set, Sail! (illus. Luke Flowers), an Illinois Good Reads selection, Here Comes Ocean (illus. Paola Zakimi) and Ready, Set, Build! (illus. Jarvis)—all of which have received critical acclaim from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, The Washington Post and the like… but most importantly, Meg’s books have become beloved treasures to children of all ages.

Be on the lookout for Meg’s forthcoming books, I Was Born A Baby (illus. Brandon James Scott), Wondering Around (illus. Richard Jones), Rock That Vote (illus. Lucy Ruth Cummins) and I Live In A Tree Trunk (illus. Brandon James Scott).

Meg lives outside of San Francisco with her husband, three kids and their ridiculous and adorable golden retriever named Opal.

Reviews

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is oddly chock-full of extremely useful advice for building, such as measure twice, cut once; and lift with your legs, not your knees.

Get those kids into proper construction technique early.

[Casandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and cute construction story.

[molliekay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children who are well versed in construction will appreciate that this book goes beyond the typical building book. Included in the rhyme is advice such as cover your head, watch where you're going, lift with your knees, etc., as well as more information on the process of raising a new building.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and cute story that will appeal to construction fans.

[Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of fun illustrations, follow the blue dog through a days work! He is a busy little dog and we follow him as he gets ready to build. He puts on his hard hat, ties his boots, and packs his lunch, he is set for the day. This book is fun and has bright painted illustrations. The book would be great in a classroom to teach about being prepared and following a lesson. The dog makes sure he is prepared and stayed on track, this could be read in a classroom and then the teacher could express the message of being prepared and staying on track when finishing an assignment but in the dogs case his construction work.

[H. L. Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagination comes to life when a little blue dog wakes up, grabs his pencil, and gets to work. From cover to cover motivation bursts from the pages, “Sketch a dream. Post a chart. Hatch the plan before you start.” My son could hardly wait to flip the page and see what this endearing blue dog is up to next! As much as we love the vivid illustrations, the main takeaways are worth reading again - projects take a lot of work, so use your imagination, be thorough, take time for rest, keep the motivation!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Construction vehicle addicts will enjoy this story about a bright blue dog who diligently works on his construction site (a dog house). Get your hard hats on and be prepared to read this little gem over and over. Simple but colorful water color and pencil illustrations set the stage for imitation in this picture book for ages 2 - 5.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last picture book I just read I rated as boring...yes an author and illustrators nightmare, so I thought maybe it is just me to day...well I am pleased to say it isn't me, or a mood, or a whim..this book was fab-u-lous!! I love the story, I love the artwork, and my favorite, I love the words which look like artwork! Simple building book! Going on my staffpick shelf!

[Jaclyn Preciado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book about construction! Has practical advice but is also enjoyable to read because it’s poetic with rhyming words. Jarvis always brings books alive with amazing illustrations. Great for toddlers, preschoolers, or first readers gaining confidence in reading. One that we could read many times over again!

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love picture books that teach little ones how to do big, grownup-type things. Exactly what Meg Fleming set out to do in this fabulous picture book.

Beautifully scaled for preschoolers, or even toddlers, this book explains the kind of thing a real-life builder would do. Such as:

Seal the roof and come down steady.

FIVE STARS of gratitude!

[Gail Gauthier · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This was my reading buddy's favorite. We read it twice. Possibly because the main character is blue."


Excerpt from Original Content.

[Kelly Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure this book will be well-loved by the little kids who love trucks and cranes and backhoes, but the but the subject matter and vocabulary at times are waaaay too advanced for the intended audience. That said, the dog and bird build a house that they can share, which is adorable.

[Molly Crow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for the toddler construction fanatic. It's a short book with an easy rhyming flow that doesn't come across as "sing songy". The pictures are simple but cute & it's a nice addition to the construction library.

[Beanling's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for the toddler construction fanatic. It's a short book with an easy rhyming flow that doesn't come across as "sing songy". The pictures are simple but cute & it's a nice addition to the construction library.

[Nena Heesakkers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meer een peuterboek, maar ik ga het toch vanuit de bibliotheek meenemen naar mijn groep met kleuters. In eerste instantie om het op de thematafel neer te zetten, in afwachting of het ze zelf aantrekt en anders misschien zelf voor te lezen

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming, simple rhyming tale to encourage the little architects and construction workers. Love the little blue dog in the illustrations.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic and short enough for storytime. Perfect for 2017 Summer Reading theme of building.

[Ama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for the 2017 SRP theme!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good cadence and good for littles

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great rhyming book good for toddlers.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, quick read that was right in line with my preschoolers' interest in all things construction.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't really go wrong with a construction book, but I LOVE the safety measures that this one addresses.

[Eme87 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for introducing step by step instructions as well as STEAM story times.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple but enjoyed very much by my construction-obsessed 4-year-old

[Angie Munoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for children who are construction fans. Easy read and includes many rhymes.

[Katelynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a cute, simple rhyming book about the steps and safety of construction.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable pup and bird do construction work together. Fun read-aloud with colorful art.

[Aarvik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read!

[Christie Authier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable book! My 2-year-old son likes the puppy doing construction and my 4.5-year-old daughter appreciates the rhymes and writing (and some words she didn't know yet).

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m 9 months old. I like this book although it did not keep my attention long.