Edificando Amistades

by Ronald Kidd, Ying-Hwa Hu (Illustrator), Cornelius Van Wright (Illustrator)

Rosa loves spending time in her new treehouse, especially now that her friend Matthew is helping her fix it up. Then some volunteers begin a new Habitat house next door, and as the two houses take shape, we learn along with Rosa and Matthew that the act of building together enriches all of us.

Genres: Picture Books, Poverty

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 1996

About the author

Ronald Kidd is the author of thirteen novels for young readers, including the highly acclaimed “Night on Fire” and “Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial.” His novels of adventure, comedy, mystery, and American history have received the Children's Choice Award, an Edgar Award nomination, and honors from the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, the Library of Congress, and the New York Public Library. He is a two-time O'Neill playwright who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of a series of picture-books published by Habitat for Humanity, an "ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing and homelessness," Building Friends is the story of Rosa, and her new friend Matthew. Newly moved into the neighborhood themselves, Rosa's parents volunteer at the Habitat site right next door, helping to build their neighbor's new home. Paralleling their elders, Rosa and Matthew work together on Rosa's tree-house, making it better than ever.

Habitat for Humanity is an organization close to my heart. I support their mission of building affordable housing for the working poor, and approve of the way in which they use volunteer labor (including that of the family being helped) to accomplish their goals. But although I donate money to the organization, and am keenly interested in children's books, I was not aware, until very recently, that they had published a series of picture-books in the late 1990s. In fact, if I hadn't gone looking for more books illustrated by husband-wife team Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu - who also worked on the wonderful Jingle Dancer and Sam and the Lucky Money - I probably wouldn't have discovered it!

I'm glad I did, as Building Friends pairs an engaging story with appealing illustrations, and is a great way to introduce children to the subject of housing needs, and the work of this wonderful organization. Although the blurb on the back cover specifies that Habitat is a Christian organization, and there is a brief quotation from Corinthians at the front, this really isn't a religious book, and would be suitable for children of any (or no) faith. After all, people of all backgrounds work with Habitat to build homes!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet book about Habitat from a kid's perspective.

[jenna Hudrlik · Rating 3 out of 5]

caroline liked this one alot - its sort of about Habitat for Humanity which is cool