Tool Book by Gail Gibbons

Tool Book by Gail Gibbons

Appropriate for Preschool

Genre: Nonfiction

Imagine that you are a preschool age boy, gazing at the strange looking objects hanging on the wall of your father’s garage. When the sink needs fixing or the backyard fence needs a repair, your father pulls out these objects and you are amazed at the way they work. You take a new interest in these objects your father calls “tools”.

Gail Gibbons describes all sorts of tools in her nonfiction book, Tool Box. As a reader, we explore how tools help us do different types of work. Some measure, some cut, and some put things together. Each page explains an action that tools can do, as well as list all types of tools. For example, one page says “Some tools grip” while showing pictures of an “open end wrench”, “pliers”, “vise”, and “adjustable wrench”.  Gibbon’s rudimentary language makes this book perfect for preschoolers. It allows young children to gain a sense of what tools are, how they are used, and how they help us complete jobs.

Although the information in this book may be a wondrous new experience to preschoolers, adults should easily know these facts about tools. Because there the information is mostly general knowledge, I can surmise that the information is indeed accurate. It would be quite hard for a reader to live to adulthood and not know that drills make holes…

The book does not seem to go in any particular sequence, like stories do. But, the information is organized in such a way that each tool is characterized by the type of job they help do. For example, the page that says “others [tools] make holes” contains all tools that make holes such as shovel, hand drill, and brace and bit.

Gibbons does an excellent job of making this book appealing to children. Although the cover and title page seem uninteresting, the pages inside are filled with colorful pictures and contrasting illustrations which would keep the attention of even a preschooler. What makes this book even more ideal for preschoolers is that the pictures are the center of attention, allowing the student to identify exactly what a screw looks like versus a nail. These types of drawing will greatly increase a preschooler’s schemata.

Gibbons uses rudimentary vocabulary in the text, only displaying difficult words when labeling the tools. In this book, the language does not need to be advanced, mostly because the focus is on learning about different tools, not acquiring a broader vocabulary.

I connect with this book and particularly this author because we use her books in the preschool classrooms I work at. During free time, many students enjoy when I read a book to them. As I let them choose a book, they often turn to nonfiction books. I can read Gail Gibbon’s Dinosaurs repeatedly and yet they still haven’t heard it enough. I am sure the students, especially the boys, will enjoy Tool Book as well.

If I were to read this book aloud to a preschool class, I would bring in actual (not dangerous) tools for the students to look at such as a tape measure, a level, a screw, and maybe an empty tool box. This book would be a good way to talk about how things can help you do a job, and what other things are helpful to you, or a friend. Tool Book is pertinent the MA ELA Frameworks 4.2 (vocabulary and concept development), 7.1-3 (Beginning Reading), 8 (Understanding a Text), and 13 (Nonfiction)