The Building Boy - Hardcover

"A boy and his grandma, a former architect, live together in a cozy home. They sit together, poring over photos of buildings she had designed and talking of the house she would soon build for the boy. But soon does not come fast enough, for the grandma passes away and the home is now just a house. Inspired, the boy constructs a giant version of his grandma that comes to life and carries the boy to the half-completed house she had begun. An endearing and satisfying twist brings closure to the boy and to the story. Themes of self-reliance, overcoming grief, celebration of the elderly, and gender equality are quiet backdrops to this imaginative tale. The surrealism of the text is perfectly paired with the surrealism of Litchfield's unique illustrations. A crowning touch is the angularity in the illustrations, a subtle nod to architecture." Reviewer: Wendy Miller Kibler; Ages 1 to 5." -- Children's Literature "A little white boy completes Grandma's dream house with a hammer and a bit of magic. Grandma used to be an architect. She built "the tallest skyscrapers, the most beautiful palaces," and many other buildings. Every night the little boy sits in Grandma's lap in Grandma's favorite chair in the study, in front of a roaring fire, and looks at photographs from Grandma's past. She plans to build a beautiful house for the two of them that will be on a hill on the horizon beyond the sea. But time is marching on; Grandma becomes too old to build a house, to make dinner, to climb the stairs. One day, the boy comes home to find her gone, and now the house is "just rooms." But he has an idea. He works for months building, through wind and snow and rain. Finally, he has it: a gigantic...grandmother! (There's a little chimney sprouting from her metallic blue hair.) She takes him by the hand and leaps into the air. They fly over gigantic fields, walk on the ocean, and scale tall skyscrapers. Finally, he sees it. On a hill above the city and across the sea sits the house that Grandma has started for him. It becomes The Building Boy's School for Young Architects. Montgomery's imaginative tale of grief and legacy is refreshingly untethered by logic. Litchfield's illustrations amplify his themes with originality and a warm palette. Sad and sweet. (Picture book. 4-7)" --Kirkus Reviews "Brilliantly inventive... quirky and life-affirming, with a sense of the surreal." --The Bookseller "Beautiful and deceptively simple... [a] sensitive and haunting tale." --Booktrust

All at once, it was as if the stars leapt closer. Grandma grabbed the boy, raising him high above the rooftiles on her head. She was alive! The boy's grandma was a famous architect. Her garden is still full of old building materials. Unwilling to accept she has gone, the boy builds a giant structure from the bricks and girders he finds. And then ... Grandma comes to life! The boy is whisked away on an epic adventure across fields, through oceans and atop roofs. But where is Grandma taking him? Beautiful, thrilling and extremely moving: the extraordinary debut picture book from much-loved author, Ross Montgomery.