When Grandpa Gives You a Toolbox - by Jamie L B Deenihan (Hardcover)

About the Book

You asked for a special house for your dolls; but instead Grandpa gives you a toolbox! What do you do? Launching it into outer space is a bad idea. So is feeding it to a T. rex! Instead, be patient, pay attention, and you might find that you're pretty handy. And just maybe, with grandpa's help, you'll get that dollhouse after all. This clever story celebrates kindness, hard work, and community, as well as variety in gender expression.

Book Synopsis

In this delightful story, by the same author who wrote When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree, a boy is disappointed with his grandfather's gift--until he learns he can use it to build exactly what he wanted with his own two hands, and a little help from grandpa, of course!

You asked for a special house for your dolls; but instead Grandpa gives you a toolbox! What do you do? Launching it into outer space is a bad idea. So is feeding it to a T. rex! Instead, be patient, pay attention, and you might find that you're pretty handy. And just maybe, with grandpa's help, you'll get that dollhouse after all. This clever story celebrates kindness, hard work, and community, as well as variety in gender expression: the male main character proudly engages in activities that might be considered typically girl (playing with dolls) and typically boy (building with tools).

Review Quotes

"In this book, a young boy wishes for a special house for his doll collection on his birthday; however, he receives a surprise gift from his grandpa--a toolbox. He is unenthusiastic as he receives it, listens to Grandpa's description of its contents, and then proceeds to happily offer readers instructions for what to do with an unwanted gift. He plans outrageous solutions until he unexpectedly finds the toolbox to be useful. Brief text and colorful, detailed illustrations follow young boy as he discovers tools and his own creativity and his appreciation for his talented grandpa grows. They end up building a beautiful dollhouse together. Diverse families from the neighborhood take interest in the young boy's blueprints, and at the end, a grand backyard tree house is planned by all the children in the neighborhood. VERDICT A suggested general purchase for young readers in all libraries." --School Library Journal

About the Author

Jamie L. B. Deenihan is a teacher and member of SCBWI and the 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge. Her first picture book was When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree. She lives in Suffield, CT, with her family. Visit her online at jamiedeenihan.com and on Twitter @jlbdeenihan.

Lorraine Rocha studied illustration and animation and worked at Lucasfilm's VFX and animation studio Industrial Light & Magic, contributing to such films as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Ironman. She is the illustrator of Zebra on the Go by Jill Nogales. Lorraine lives with her family in San Leandro, CA.