Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Even though I’m an adult, I absolutely love PB’s. There is so much that one can learn from them - small snippets of strange and glorious information, or a life’s lesson nestled in the pages. LET’S BUILD A DAM!, written by Daniel Fehr and illuminated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio, is a beautifully illustrated book. The cover really drew me in, and I couldn’t wait to read it.

By the time I finished the book, I knew that there was something missing: a plot. The children built a dam, got various adults to help them, the dam was destroyed, the end. That’s not a spoiler because a spoiler involves revealing the plot.

There were no motivators for the kids or the adults, no consequences, and no lessons learned. The storyline provided a lot of opportunities for the author to create a meaningful message, but he didn’t take advantage of it. For example, if a shipload of sailors—and even their king—is going to help a couple of kids build a dam, surely there must be a reason why?

There is immense competition for books. At the same time, many people—including Americans and Europeans—are on the verge of financial ruin; some people can’t afford to even heat their homes. Parents, schools, and even libraries have to be extremely careful with their money. One has to ask themselves: is this book worth $19.95? Because of the issues listed above, I’m inclined to say no.

I’ll use this book as a mentor text for writing when I teach personal essays. This is a beautiful book about loving nature, using your imagination, and working together.

Beautifully illustrated. Love the imagination of the children and the story from their day on the water. No underlying message, just a fun read.

A very creative way of presenting this short story. One day playing outside three siblings make a dam. The first pages almost look like a flipbook. The landscape is static and only minor changes to the same scenario where imagination brings forth the characters of their stories to join their playful time. The artwork is amazing with a traditional art feeling. For the creative way of presenting it, I got from it the feeling that I read a very short poem, it's a 5 for me although there isn't not much story there, we witness a joyful moment in their day. It's very sweet almost nostalgic.

This was a cute, quick little story. I will say, I’m a bit confused why the children are in modern time but the king and pirates look as though they are from the colonial period. Was it their imagination or did that really happen…..?

Great illustrations!

This is a cute and whimsical story about siblings building a dam and enlisting the help of ships that are passing by. The illustrations are beautiful!

Thank you North South and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this wonderful book. This beautifully illustrated book highlights the power of imagination and play as well as a relationship between siblings. Simple language makes this book accessible even to the youngest readers.

What a delightful book. The siblings in this story embark on a great adventure as they spend the day at the creek. The simple wording and beautiful illustrations make this a great book even for the quite young. I love the fact that it encourages children to use their imagination.

3,5 ⭐
This is a really cute children's book, with beautiful illustrations.
It's a really simple story that shows how working together can achieve big things, and how great a little bit of imagination can be. I also love the fact that it encourages children to play outside.
A great book for bedtime as it is quite small and good fuel for the imagination and possibly dreams.

Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for the advanced copy of this book.

One day, May and Lily decided to build a dam not far from where they lived. They made it bigger and bigger until it was big enough to attract kings and pirates and all sorts of folks. Together, they were to make the most magnificent dam ever, but can it truly last?

This book has a whimsical plot and a charming finale. I love the way that different characters pop in and out. The illustrations are truly gorgeous also, with plenty of charming details. This story reminds me of my own childhood, playing in the river and finding ways to build with whatever is on hand. It has just enough fantasy to capture the imagination, a truly enjoyable little book.

Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Three siblings start building a dam near their house. Soon they start to get help from all sorts of people as the dam builds. I think the idea is to show the power of imagination but it’s a little hard since all the new things are in the background and the dam is in the foreground. There is also no indication of why the kids started building the dam, so I was confused about that (because that seems random for kids to just start building).

This books features 3 siblings who set out to make a dam by piling up stones. What starts off as realistic fiction takes a turn to fantasy and ends up back in the realistic fiction zone. Overall, this one missed the mark for me. The illustrations are fun, and the plot was a good idea. It just needed to be drawn out more to truly entice the reader.