When Grandpa Gives You a Toolbox

The story begins with the opening endpapers as Grandpa starts to pull into the driveway with his pick-up truck, balloons filling the cab and a bow-bedecked red toolbox riding in the bed. It doesn’t end until the final endpapers, where readers can observe the physical transformation of the boy’s backyard (and the neighborhood!) mirroring the transformation of the little boy’s attitude towards the gift and his grandpa. Although the little boy, who remains nameless throughout the story, hopes for a doll-house for his birthday (a challenge of gender stereotypes), he grudgingly practices good manners (with a few eye-rolls) as he gives the reader instructions on the appropriate way to behave—“be patient,” “compliment Grandpa,” ”give him a hug,” etc. He soon discovers, however, that the toolbox sparks creativity and empowers him not only to create the world’s most magnificent dollhouse that will have both boys and girls clamoring to get a toolbox and build one of their own, but also to help his neighbors, create a community and spend quality time learning with his grandpa, whose teaching style is exemplary and evident throughout the illustrations (e.g. the host of wonky birdhouses built before the final one is complete). With a witty and playful tone, the masterful storytelling allows space for a significant portion of the story to be told through the illustrations. The illustrations themselves are beautiful, executed in bold colors and jam-packed with clever details—the little boys’ initials appear on the toolbox above the grandpa’s, Meyer and Lemon streets crossing on the front endpapers referencing an earlier book by the same creative team, and blueprints for the birdhouse, to name just a few.