Building

by Henry Cole

This classic and beautifully illustrated picture book follows a family of beavers as they build their home. A companion to Nesting by celebrated author-illustrator Henry Cole, Building will be welcomed by young naturalists. With stunning line art and a limited color palette, this simple text follows a family of beavers as they do what beavers do build! Two beavers find a stream, build a dam, and raise a family in their new lodge. When the dam is threatened by storms, the beavers work hard to rebuild it. Building is what beavers do best. Building is perfect for parents and teachers to share with young children to introduce beginning life science concepts such as life cycle, feeding habits, caring for young, and the wetlands ecosystem. An author’s note provides even more information at the end of the book.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Nature, Nonfiction, Science, Childrens, Construction

40 pages, Hardcover

Published June 21, 2022

About the author

Henry Cole was a celebrated science teacher for many years before turning his talents to children's books. He has worked on nearly one hundred and fifty books for children, including Nesting, Unspoken, Big Bug, A Nest for Celeste, Jack's Garden, and On Meadowview Street. Henry loves being outside where he can sketch and write.

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fine and the pictures are great but it used the wrong form of “tail”, “tale” is not the same as “tail”.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cross-hatch illustrations with the occasional splashes of color really draw the reader in as does the repeated refrain, "Building, building. That is what beavers do best." Thankfully, as explained in the end matter, beavers are returning and helping wetlands to return too.

How beavers build a lodge, how beavers build a family, and how beavers help to build the surrounding ecosystem are all explained clearly with lovely accompanying illustrations.

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to follow and beautiful picture book about how beavers change the environment and recreate a habitat to suit their needs and the animals that benefit. Beavers are a keystone critter and maybe considered a pest, but many animals depend on them.

[Lisa K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous black and white drawings (with occasional washes of color) and simple words take us through a year with beavers building a dam and lodge, having babies, caring for them, and creating a new pond and ecosystem for other animals.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveted my three-year-old. He'd never heard of beavers before. It is a quick, no -fiction read explaining how beavers make dams, lodges and care for their young. The cross hatch illustrations are beautiful as well.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated! The tale/tail typo was a little jarring, though!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author-illustrator Cole follows a pair of nesting beavers as they build a home for themselves and their future family. His detailed black and white pen and acrylic drawings accented with occasional color in the surrounding environment show the beavers as they build a dome-shaped lodge in the middle of a pond with an underwater passageway.

He writes:

“It is safe and dark. The mother beaver can have her babies inside the lodge.”

He continues his story through the birth of the babies and how their parents keep them fed, warm, and safe from predators.

Intermittently, he repeats a simple phrase: “Building building. That is what beavers do best.”

Evaluation: This book takes the recommended reading group of 3 and up through the cycles of survival in nature, including scouting out a safe place to live, finding food, staying safe, and raising young. More details about beavers are given in the Author’s Note at the end of the book. The text by Cole, a former science teacher, is relatively simple but informative, and full of information that will no doubt generate interest in other animals, including humans, and how they respond to challenges in their environment.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Late one winter, two beavers, a male and a female, cut down trees to build a dam to form a pond and a lodge as their home. The mother gives birth to three little beavers, who are safe and warm in the lodge. As they grow, they venture out of the lodge, hustling back when one of their parents uses their tail to sound a warning of danger nearby. They rebuild the dam when it is damaged by the storm and head to the lodge to overwinter for the next year.

Cole's second book about animal families (the first was Nesting), this quiet story is just right for a bedtime read or inserted into a unit about animal families or beavers. He finishes with an author's note about beavers and what extraordinary engineers they are and abou how mankind is the greatest threat to beavers. Cole used micropens and acrylic paints to render the life-like illustrations for this book. They fully capture the drama of life on the pond and are chock-a-block full of information.

Highly Recommend for PreSchool-grade 2.

[Christie Kaaland · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the delightfully engaging cover illustration showing an industrious beaver poking his head above his newly constructed dam, young children will delight in learning about how beavers turn streams into ponds as they build their homes and create a whole ecosystem for numerous other animals. Cole’s Building (2022), tells of the seasonal process of beaver engineers building dams, a safe harbor for beaver mom to raise her beaver baby families. Delightful. This is a followup to COle's previous success, Nesting, which shows a year in the life of a robin. These books expand students’ animal knowledge while responding to their request to read about animals.

Such strong memories from childhood of the beaver dam in the woods behind our house. We used to hike there regularly hoping to see the beavers, but always witnessing the amazing construction abilities of these industrious animals.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing signature Henry Cole illustrations accompany and informational text about beavers.
Mainly composed in black and white; the splashes of color enhance the drawings.
This is a very worthy nonfiction title--unfortunately the curriculum's emphasis in "text features" such as headings, captions, maps, diagrams, etc. will preclude this amazing book from be included in most animals research units.
There is also a bad bit of editing--parents slap their tales on the water. Maybe this can be used as a teachable moment for homophones?

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This companion to Cole's Nesting (2002), follows a family of industrious beavers as they build a home and a create a pond that becomes home to many other animals. Cole's delicate gray-and-black line drawings depict the beavers and their environment with graceful natural shapes defining the pond, the surrounding trees, and the animals. Minimal use of color makes it all the more effective. A splendid introduction to nature's msot remarkable engineers.

[Peacegal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely pen-and-ink illustrations study the lifecycle of a pair of beavers as they build a dam and raise young. It's always nice to see these animals who are often ignored--or even thought of as pests--get their due as complex and intelligent members of the ecosystem who create so much natural habitat for other species.

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story about a family of beavers! I think the author sums it up best in a recurring phrase found within the book, "Building, building. That is what beavers do best." The author's note at the end adds to the book. I am looking forward to sharing this book with my students! Two thumbs up for this book!

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book as an adult reader for the AR Diamond Book Award. The book as a whole was a nice little peek into the daily life of a beaver with nice illustrations. However, I'm still stuck on the use of "beaver tales" and not "beaver tails" in the story. I just can't give a "yes" suggestion vote to the committee for it to get a state award.

[A Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Henry Cole's sketches are the only thing that makes this book stand out among the rest. The text is similar to plenty of other beaver books, but the illustrations are gentle and color was added sparingly. I could see renting this title from the public library for my beaver lesson plan, but I would not buy it.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch as two beavers build a dam, make a den, and raise their family in a pond.

This is a gorgeously illustrated introduction to beavers, their habitats and habits, and their life cycles. It’s not very long, but it is informative and Cole really brings a beaver’s life to life with his detailed illustrations.

[Aolund · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle seasonal tale of beavers building a dam and how their creation changes the landscape. Has a non-fiction feel. Mostly black and white illustrations with some color.

Themes: Building, Animals, Earth, STEAM
Age range: Toddler-Early Elementary

[SamSamSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from reading this book! Great balance of rich vocabulary and simple text. I wish the images were higher contrast for storytime, but I do really enjoy the illustration style. Unfortunate typo of the spelling of beaver tails :(

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (I really liked it)

The illustrations were just amazing! There is a lot of great information about beavers as well. The text is a bit dry but I can overlook that because of the amazing illustrations.

[Connie T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pen and ink drawings highlighted with splashes of red, green, and blue merge expertly with the text to explain how a pair of beavers first look for a spot to call home then build their den. An author's note adds further details. This is a beautifully crafted book about beavers.

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story and pictures

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Henry Cole's meticulous line drawn illustrations. Interesting facts about beavers and how/why they build their lodges.

[Brenda Kahn]

Absolutely lovely.

[Jared White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muted but intricate illustrations and fairly simple text follow a beaver family from winter to winter. I'm not quite sure why but something caused me to put this on my "cozy" bookshelf.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love Henry Cole’s chapter books and picture books! Always a sweet tale of an animal’s adventures & friendships with factual details and many interesting illustrations.

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated - if Caldecotts were given for an entire body of work, Cole would surely deserve one

[Robert Ellington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beavers are fascinating! My son and I really enjoyed this book!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite line drawing illustrations that provide the amazing details of a pair of beavers and their careful construction of a dam and lodge.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Building, building. That is what beavers do best.” Drawing, drawing. That is what Cole does best—telling a compelling story, not so much. But, oh, the drawings!