Built Together

Join lovable Mina Starsiak Hawk from HGTV?s hit show Good Bones as she brings her signature humor and heart to this warm and welcoming story about families of all shapes and sizes. Gather around for this celebration of diversity and acceptance as you are reminded just how wonderful it is to be part of your own unique family. Strong families, like strong houses, have sturdy foundations built on trust, love, and a whole lot of TLC. And like houses, no two families look exactly alike. After reading Built Together, children will learn:There are countless ways to be a family-including adopted, divorced, single-parent, or blended familiesAbout diversity and acceptance of not only your own family, but families that look nothing like yoursBuilt Together:Is great for readers ages 4-8Features bright, playful illustrations that bring this inspiring story to lifeIs filled with the vibrant community spirit of Good Bones, with instant appeal to long-time fans and new friends alikeIs a great resource for teachers and parents to help teach children the importance of acceptance and familyDrawing on her own stories of starting Two Chicks and a Hammer with her mom, working with her stepfamily, fostering her niece, adopting her rescue dogs, and playing with her son, Mina invites readers young and old to join her in discovering how we are all stronger together. Because, in the end, families are built as well as made. Review Hawk, of HGTV's Good Bones fame, makes her debut with this story--a child's narrative about his sizeable family's origins. Though he lives with only his parents and 'our three goofy dogs,' the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy enjoys the community of grandparents, cousins, stepfamily, and even 'friends who Mom says might as well be family.' Sporting a tool belt and wondering in literal construction terms how the family came about, he lists off various instruments: 'I wonder if Mom and Dad built our family with a monkey wrench and pipes?' Bright, slick illustrations by Bongini (the Fairy Ponies series) depict him helping others with home projects, including tiling a kitchen and painting a house's exterior. (Hawk's fans will note visual nods to her Indianapolis home renovation business, Two Chicks and a Hammer, on the characters' clothing.) Finally consulting his parents on the most appropriate tool for the job, he's told that the true building blocks of family are love, kindness, and community, exemplified by 'celebrating the good stuff together. And by helping each other with the tough stuff.' The bare-bones story doesn't cover new ground, but readers who appreciate the author's TV show will warm to its laudable message of inclusivity and the way that families can be built: one kind, welcoming act at a time. -- Publishers Weekly About the Author Mina Starsiak Hawk is the co-founder and owner of Two Chicks and a Hammer, star of HGTV?s show Good Bones, and a realtor and author. She is a Midwesterner through-and-through. Mina lives in Indianapolis with her husband, Stephen and son, Jack, and their three dogs Frank, Beatrice, and Sophie.Barbara Bongini was born in Milan. She knew at an early age she wanted to be an artist. She went to an artistic high school and later enrolled in the illustration program at the European Institute of Design. After graduation, she pursued a career in children?s publishing. When not illustrating, Barbara loves spending time with her two children, watching cartoons. She also enjoys going to bookstores and building her own library of illustrated books.