Let's Build a Backyard

Kids are invited to pull on their overalls, climb into a digger and get started on a backyard that begins as bare ground. Rhyming lines follow each step of the job: moving the soil, putting up a fence, planting a vegetable patch and mixing in compost, which the text cheerfully treats as the smelliest part. Counting cues and shouted calls to get to work give the story a lively, bouncy beat that young readers can join in with.

Mike Lucas, a real-life engineer, wrote and illustrated this picture book with bold, bright artwork. It works as a companion to his earlier book, Let's Build a House.