The House That Zack Built

by Alison Murray

A buzzy fly and a mischievous kitten make a mess on the farm in this contemporary twist on a classic rhyme.

This is the fly that
buzzed on by
over the house
that Zack built . . .

Readers in the know may recognize Zack and his trusty dog, Rufus, from Alison Murray’s Hickory Dickory Dog. Now Zack is enjoying a day on the farm, building an amazing house with his blocks. But nearby, a wandering fly has attracted the attention of an inquisitive and determined feline. Stalking and chasing through stylish illustrations, the cat unintentionally creates havoc. Sleeping dog and serene lambs scatter, and the fly lands precariously on top of Zack’s house. What will Zack do? Children will buzz over this delightful read-aloud — and parents and teachers will appreciate Zack’s commonsense clean-up.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Nursery Rhymes, Dogs, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2014

About the author

Alison Murray studied textile and interactive media design. After graduating, she moved to London where she did a variety of jobs, including selling books and designing rugs, before cofounding a successful interactive media company. She now mainly works as an illustrator and author of picture books, but still dabbles with interactive media and web design. She has published several books, including Hickory Dickory Dog. Alison Murray lives in Scotland with her family.

Reviews

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zack built a house out of blocks outside under a tree. A fly buzzed by, the cat stalked the fly, then got more interested in the cream up high on a shelf. The dog was asleep when down fell the cream, knocked over by the cat who was still looking to catch that fly. The lambs in the field are calm and quiet, then the dog runs through still covered in cream and the sheep dash out of the field. Then Zack looks around, amazed at the mess of the farm. He jumped into action and set it all right. Then they all sat quietly and looked at the incredible house that Zack had built.

This British import is a cumulative tale that doesn’t solely stick to the traditional structure of building and building onto the length of the sentence with each new addition. Instead here it is the story itself that is the focus and the cumulative structure is used when it works and then merrily abandoned to make the storyline work better and to also make the book much more enjoyable to read. The result is a cumulative tale that will not leave you breathless or with a spinning head when shared aloud.

Murray’s art is simple and friendly. The illustrations will work well for a crowd since they are not filled with small details. Children will enjoy the cat in particular as it causes almost all of the problems that emerge.

There is a real satisfaction in this story of watching chaos happen and then having it set to rights. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic rhyme gets a fresh twist in this cumulative tale that uses bouncing verse and bright illustrations to unfold delightful mayhem on a farm. Fans of the author's previous book (Hickory Dickory Dog) may recognize Zack and his canine sidekick, Rufus, but The House That Zack Built can stand alone. The story is brought to a happy, satisfying close as quick-thinking, resourceful Zack restores order in the farmyard. Featuring crisp rhymes that beg to be said out-loud, this is a perfect pick for one-on-one sharing and preschool storytimes.

[Dee-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story based on the original poem/rhyme of similar name. Cute, oldish pictures. We liked following the path of the fly.

[Meekat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book, 'The House that Zac Built' is a picture book aimed at younger children from the ages between 2-5. This story was a retelling version from another book called. 'The House that Jack Built' but was adapted for younger children.
The book can be used to identify different animals and their sounds within the classroom. It is a classic nursery rhyme and is used to encourage children to remember different animals. This can be very beneficial for children that are EAL, as the teacher will have to read this story in a dramatic way and this can enable the EAL children to really identify different sounds and animals. My personal response to this review is that the illustrations were very effective, the animals, especially the cat had several expressions throughout the book on each page. The teacher can do lots of questioning and answering whilst reading the book, which can encourage the children to identify words to describe expressions and develop their language.

[Julia Thorp]

The House that Zac Built is a picture book targeted at younger children (2-5 yrs old). It is an adaption of another book called The House that Jack Built, however is changed so that it is more accessible for younger children.
The story can help identify different animals and the sounds that they make. It rhythmically follows a nursery rhyme and then can help children remember animal names more easily. Due to the pictoral and musical element to this book, it can be a very powerful tool for children with EAL as they can recognise in their home language and then translate it into English too.

I find that with this book there is a large scope for different methods of teaching, and being able to get the whole class involved in the telling of the story.

[Cristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people have heard of the children’s story called the house that Jack built. This is a retelling of that classic story. There are a few differences. The main characters name is Zach, not Jack and he is building with blocks instead of a real house. Fans of the classic story will like this one. The illustrations are really cute and colorful. I would recommend this for any collection.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zack spends the book building his block house while the action takes place around him.
He shoos off a fly when it lands. The cat chases the fly and triggers a chain of reactions from other animals on the farm. In the end, Zack takes care of the mess and solves the various problems.
Use for cause/effect.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kitty is so cute. It's fun to read this a little dramatically. The kids I read to have pretty short attention spans and this story is a touch wordy in spots, but doing the story dramatically kept them paying attention (for the most part) until the end.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/ Published 2014

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite fun though the ending was completely unrealistic

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!
7/6/2018 Read with Julia.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit repetitive

[Gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

potential for storytime

[Paul Graham Terpstra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story and illustrations

[Lara Bate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story teaching children about farm animals.

[Mama Bearian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun play on the traditional rhyme (and not quite as repetitive as the original, which made it easier to read).

[Adrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. I had never read a book before by Alison Murray, who is a Scottish children's author and illustrator. I loved the rich colors that filled every page and how they were vibrant and ranged from green to red to orange to yellow. I enjoyed the rhyming that was a constant fixture throughout the novel. On one of the pages, the author stated, "These are the lambs, calm and serene..." I thought she did a fantastic job of illustrating lambs in a field of grass on a farm while a fly buzzed near them.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: This is the house that Zack built. And this is the fly that buzzed on by, over the house that Zack built. This is the cat that stalked the fly that buzzed on by, over the house that Zack built.

Premise/plot: A retelling, of sorts, of The House that Jack Built. Zack, the house-builder, lives on the farm. And animals feature prominently in this retelling.

My thoughts: While I am not a fan of The House That Jack Built, I am very much a fan of The House that Zack Built. Part of the charm, for me, is the CAT. This gray-and-white cat had me at hello. And finding the cat on each page, and seeing the cat's expression was great fun for me. This cat has ATTITUDE, trust me. I liked the text. I did. I thought the rhythm and rhyme of it worked well. But I really enjoyed the illustrations.

Text: 3.5 out of 5
Illustrations: 4.5 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my all-time favorite of Alison Murray's marvelous books - what I love about her art is the way her digital compositions mimic some of the artifacts of physical art processes - the sticky texture of block-printed color, the crumbly edge you get when you've used tape to mask an area - and in this one there is less of that.

BUT - the book is nevertheless a charmer, transplanting "The House that Jack Built" onto a farm, with rhymes that work and a few fun words that invite exploration.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This rhyming text structured after the oh-so-famous House That Jack Built is amusing in that it narrates a barnyard calamity that is truly Rube Goldberg worthy. That is to say, one thing leads to another and another until the entire barnyard is one dizzying whirl of chaos. I think kids would get a real kick out of this one. It's silly and fun, and kids will recognize a disaster in the making from the early stages. Well done.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

It threw me off that the text doesn't strictly follow the pattern of The House that Jack Built, but otherwise, this wasn't bad. I think it worked better than the first book about Zack, Hickory Dickory Dog.

[Ms.Gaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this tale that isn't strictly cumulative throughout. It stops intermittently with dramatic moments, just right for keeping a preschooler's interest. The pictures are engaging, with many cute faces and scenes depicting a definite sense of action. Children can follow the fly as he buzzes around too. Great for storytime. Ages 2-6.

[Charley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I think is intended for young children as the font is large and there is not many words on each page.

The pictures are bold and colourful which I feel will engage young children well.

I like the story line as lots of different things that are going on but it always comes back to the house that Zac built.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fresh take on the nursery rhyme in which Zack visits a farm and is building a structure out of blocks when a mischevious cat and a house fly nearly destroy the farm.

Fun read aloud for PreK-2 with vibrant digital illustrations.

[Angie Quantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful adaptation of a book with a similar title. Love this version and the entire concept. A pesky fly, a determined cat, a creamy dog, and the other usual farm animals join Zack as he builds a house.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the old folk motif, "The House that Jack Built", this is a delightful barnyard romp where many things go amiss, but Zack takes control and all is righted again.
Always enjoy the art work of Alison Murray.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming. An update of "The house that Jack built" that has the same satisfying rhythm and repetition, but with richer language and a more appealing story.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters from Hickory Dickory Dog return in this lively, colorfully illustrated take another nursery rhyme.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on a Mother Goose cumulative tale. And, as usual, I loved Murray's illustrations!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combines the themes of "The Fly Went By" and "The House that Jack Built" into a fun romp through a farm.