Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2008)

Starred Review Albert's neighbors call him the "Fix-It Man" because he can repair anything: Auntie Miller's garden fence, Mr. Jensen's old green truck, Akiko's clothesline, Mrs. Peabody's blue china cup. One morning Albert wakes up with a horrible cold, and when Sam the newspaper carrier learns that the Fix-It Man is under the weather, he calls for help. In a warm, closing spread, Albert enjoys the care and support of the many neighbors that he has helped. Lord's rhythmic, simple text is perfectly cadenced for reading aloud, while Paschkis' cheerful illustrations, filled with scrolling designs and smiling friends, reinforce the sense of the close, busy community working together. For a discussion about kindness and cooperation, link this with Ilene Cooper's The Golden Rule (2007) or for a more environmentally focused theme, with Simms Taback's Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (1999).

Horn Book

Albert--white-bearded, overalled, with a sunny, old-timey smile--repairs stuff for neighbors. Each task requires different tools, mostly unnamed but easily identifiable in Paschkis's cleanly outlined representations. When Albert falls ill, the beneficiaries of his handyman largess bring him a wholesome meal, and he's "on the mend." The simply rendered, brightly decorative art suits this to the youngest would-be fix-it folk.

Kirkus Reviews

Neighbors band together to help the local helper. Albert is known as the Fix-it Man and, with his flannel shirt and crisp overalls, he certainly looks the part. A smile peeks out of his snowy white beard as he patches Auntie Miller's fence and fixes Mr. Jensen's motor and re-hangs Akiko's frayed clothesline. At night, he dreams about broken bicycles and loose floorboards. When Albert wakes up with a terrible cold, the sad news spreads quickly through the town. In no time at all, the people whom Albert has helped pile into the back of Mr. Jensen's truck and visit the Fix-it Man. They bring nourishment and TLC to his bedside; later Albert drifts off into a recuperative sleep, dreaming of tomorrow's projects. This is a warmly affecting story of (multicultural) community, greatly enhanced by Paschkis's stylish watercolor illustrations. (Picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Folkloric illustrations perk up this sister team’s (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Here Comes Grandma) otherwise modest tale about the value of community. Decked out in plaid shirt and overalls and sporting a snowy white beard that Santa might envy, Albert fixes Mr. Jensen’s truck, fastens Akiko’s clothesline and repairs Mrs. Peabody’s leaky faucet; no job is too small. When Albert catches cold and takes to his bed, Mr. Jenkins drives the neighbors to Albert’s house, where he is served beans from the garden he fenced, mint tea in the cup he mended and an apple pie covered with a cloth from the clothesline. Visual details enhance the story: the characters are of various ages and races; many different kinds of tools are put to use. Animals, including Albert’s spotted gray cat, romp freely throughout. Paschkis favors flat shapes filled with decoration, using geometric patterns to adorn curtains, tablecloths and dresses, for example, and presenting plants and foliage as stylized ornaments. Readers will appreciate the warm portrayal of neighbors taking care of one another. Ages 4-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Mar.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1 Life would be sweeter if everyone had a neighbor like Albert. He strolls through the community with his trusty toolbox in hand, alert to all sorts of repair opportunities, from rusty hinges, loose shingles, and fussy motors to leaky faucets and broken crockery. His generosity and skill are much appreciated, so when poor Albert is laid up with a cold, his neighbors waste no time making use of all of the items he's fixed to return the favor. This is a simple story that celebrates the virtue of good neighbors and shared kindnesses, made all the more charming by the folk-inspired illustrations that use cheery colors and bold patterns to convey a sense of warmth and community. Albert himself is a picture of amiability with his fluffy white beard, jaunty red baseball cap, and overallsjust the sort of avuncular man who earns the trust and admiration of those around him. An added delight is the wonderful white-on-black endpapers featuring just about every kind of tool and gadget that might be found in Albert's toolbox. A welcome dose of old-fashioned neighborliness. Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library