Construction Crews Build Big!

Author R.W. Alley
Hardcover
$18.99 US
On sale Jun 02, 2026 | 40 Pages | 9781662670251

The hard-working animals living in Breezy Valley return as construction workers build a new town library, from foundation to finishing touches.

In this fun and detail-packed picture book for kids ages 3-6, the workers of Breezy Valley bring their tools and trucks to tackle the big job of building a new library. After site prep, digging and laying the foundation, and framing, the tradespeople come in to take care of wiring, piping, painting, and more. Constant action, informative labels, and cut-aways combine to give young readers the full story of how a building gets built.
R.W. Alley is the author and illustrator of many children’s books. For more than 20 years, he has been the illustrator of the revived Paddington Bear series, across multiple formats. Other recent work includes There’s a Princess in the Palace: Five Classic Tales Retold, and Mitchell on the Moon. He received the Rhode Island Mock Caldecott Award for There’s a Wolf at the Door, and a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book for Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day. Books he has illustrated have been selected by Junior Library Guild and included in lists such as ALA Notable Books for Children, Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts, among others. His other books at Kane Press include the Animal Antics A to Z series, written by Barbara deRubertis and Firefighters to the Rescue! Visit www.rwalley.com. View titles by R.W. Alley

Classroom Activities for Construction Crews Build Big!

Classroom activities supplement discussion and traditional lessons with group projects and creative tasks. Can be used in pre-existing units and lessons, or as stand-alone.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

"Alley combines bold printed text with abundant, slightly smaller-print, pastel speech balloons; his narrative brims with subplots and jokes... The book-moving plan, however, is community genius, reflected, too, in the tiny Book Swap Libraries to find on the map. Fact-filled and fun—sure to keep attentive visitors as busy as its industrious cast."—Kirkus Reviews

About

The hard-working animals living in Breezy Valley return as construction workers build a new town library, from foundation to finishing touches.

In this fun and detail-packed picture book for kids ages 3-6, the workers of Breezy Valley bring their tools and trucks to tackle the big job of building a new library. After site prep, digging and laying the foundation, and framing, the tradespeople come in to take care of wiring, piping, painting, and more. Constant action, informative labels, and cut-aways combine to give young readers the full story of how a building gets built.

Author

R.W. Alley is the author and illustrator of many children’s books. For more than 20 years, he has been the illustrator of the revived Paddington Bear series, across multiple formats. Other recent work includes There’s a Princess in the Palace: Five Classic Tales Retold, and Mitchell on the Moon. He received the Rhode Island Mock Caldecott Award for There’s a Wolf at the Door, and a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book for Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day. Books he has illustrated have been selected by Junior Library Guild and included in lists such as ALA Notable Books for Children, Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts, among others. His other books at Kane Press include the Animal Antics A to Z series, written by Barbara deRubertis and Firefighters to the Rescue! Visit www.rwalley.com. View titles by R.W. Alley

Guides

Classroom Activities for Construction Crews Build Big!

Classroom activities supplement discussion and traditional lessons with group projects and creative tasks. Can be used in pre-existing units and lessons, or as stand-alone.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Praise

"Alley combines bold printed text with abundant, slightly smaller-print, pastel speech balloons; his narrative brims with subplots and jokes... The book-moving plan, however, is community genius, reflected, too, in the tiny Book Swap Libraries to find on the map. Fact-filled and fun—sure to keep attentive visitors as busy as its industrious cast."—Kirkus Reviews