Built Together

Mina Starsiak author Barbara Bongini illustrator

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Zondervan

Published:18th Mar '21

Should be back in stock very soon

Built Together cover

Join lovable Mina Starsiak Hawk from HGTV’s hit show Good Bones as she brings her signature humor and heart to this warm and welcoming story about families of all shapes and sizes. Gather around for this celebration of diversity and acceptance as you are reminded just how wonderful it is to be part of your own unique family. 

Strong families, like strong houses, have sturdy foundations built on trust, love, and a whole lot of TLC. And like houses, no two families look exactly alike. After reading Built Together, children will learn:

  • There are countless ways to be a family—including adopted, divorced, single-parent, or blended families
  • About diversity and acceptance of not only your own family, but families that look nothing like yours

Built Together:

  • Is great for readers ages 4-8
  • Features bright, playful illustrations that bring this inspiring story to life
  • Is filled with the vibrant community spirit of Good Bones, with instant appeal to long-time fans and new friends alike
  • Is a great resource for teachers and parents to help teach children the importance of acceptance and family

Drawing on her own stories of starting Two Chicks and a Hammer with her mom, working with her stepfamily, fostering her niece, adopting her rescue dogs, and playing with her son, Mina invites readers young and old to join her in discovering how we are all stronger together. Because, in the end, families are built as well as made.

Hawk, of HGTV's Good Bones fame, makes her debut with this story--a child's narrative about his sizeable family's origins. Though he lives with only his parents and 'our three goofy dogs,' the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy enjoys the community of grandparents, cousins, stepfamily, and even 'friends who Mom says might as well be family.' Sporting a tool belt and wondering in literal construction terms how the family came about, he lists off various instruments: 'I wonder if Mom and Dad built our family with a monkey wrench and pipes?' Bright, slick illustrations by Bongini (the Fairy Ponies series) depict him helping others with home projects, including tiling a kitchen and painting a house's exterior. (Hawk's fans will note visual nods to her Indianapolis home renovation business, Two Chicks and a Hammer, on the characters' clothing.) Finally consulting his parents on the most appropriate tool for the job, he's told that the true building blocks of family are love, kindness, and community, exemplified by 'celebrating the good stuff together. And by helping each other with the tough stuff.' The bare-bones story doesn't cover new ground, but readers who appreciate the author's TV show will warm to its laudable message of inclusivity and the way that families can be built: one kind, welcoming act at a time. * Publishers Weekly *

ISBN: 9780310769286

Dimensions: 264mm x 197mm x 9mm

Weight: 371g

32 pages