ALA Booklist (Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Sharonda and her mama are living in a relative's back room when their church decides to build them a house. A group of people from the community arrive at the empty lot, some with tools and skills, others with a willingness to work and learn. Diane, the crew leader, shows Sharonda how to hammer together a window box, a job she can work on while the adults build the house. After the dedication, she and her mama move in to their new home. Sharonda narrates in clean, simple prose, sharing her misgivings and describing how a vacant lot evolves from slab to frame to finished house: a home that is built with concrete and lumber, goodwill and pride. Varied in composition and perspective, the watercolor-and-pastel-pencil illustrations center on the nicely individualized characters rather than details of construction, and readers will share Sharonda's quiet glow of happiness at the end.

Horn Book

Supportive community members work together to build a home for a struggling mother and daughter. The illustrations capture not only the beauty of the workers of different races united, but also the realities of what goes into building a house from the ground up. The story, based on the author's experience with the Women's Build program, is thought provoking without being didactic.

Kirkus Reviews

Owning a home is arguably the American Dream, and children share in it. Third grader Sharonda and her mother live in a room at her aunt's house. They are beginning to outstay their welcome when the church decides to build them a house of their own. Lyon masterfully tells Sharonda's story, unfurling the child's disbelief that her dream is coming true, the hard work and time volunteers contribute, Sharonda's excitement as she sees the house being constructed, her anticipation of sleeping there and the joy and peace she feels when she and her mother walk through the door for the first time. Anderson's watercolor-andpastel-pencil illustrations burst off the page with energy and life, and readers will feel the thrill as the house goes up, step by step. The end pages depicting her current and future homes are wonderful touches. A heartfelt, welcome addition to any collection and a happy fictive complement to David Rubel's If I Had a Hammer (2009), which celebrates Habitat for Humanity. (Picture book. 4-9)

School Library Journal (Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Gr 1-4 Lyon's reputation for lyrical writing is well established, and the pleasing cadences in this moving story do not disappoint. Sharonda and her mother have worn out their welcome at an aunt's apartment. When folks from church announce that they will build this twosome a house, the child is dubious: "'Right,' I say. 'Like I'm going/to tap-dance on the moon.'" (The prose is structured in short lines, grouped to look and read like stanzas.) When Sharonda is permitted to hammer the first nail, she starts to believe. An author's note explains Lyon's participation with Habitat for Humanity in Kentucky, and the experience lends particular voices and authentic material to portray the effect of a caring community and the people who manipulate the power tools. Anderson's palette moves from a drab brick world to a vivid work site, accented with autumn leaves. The brown faces of the protagonists glow in the warm light. The wood is both character and design element. It is as solid a presence as a flower box that the heroine builds; it is a dynamic visual when beams, viewed from above, frame Sharonda's roof dance. When the bare bones of the interior spill across a spread, in all their depth and patterned glory, the home is a work of art. Certain to inspire others to participate in similar endeavors, this book will also resonate with those in need of receiving the grace illuminated here. Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library