The Birthday Castle: Fort Builders Inc. 1

by Dee Romito, Marta Kissi (Illustrator)

Overview

A group of friends use teamwork, creativity, and construction know-how to start their own fort building company in the first story in a new, fun-to-read Aladdin QUIX chapter book series that’s perfect for emerging readers!

Caleb could really use a bit more spending money—he needs to buy the next book in his favorite series so he can see what happens! But what can he do to raise funds once his allowance runs out? Caleb puts his head together with his best friend, Jax, and a couple other kids in their neighborhood, and come up with a brilliant idea. They’re going to start their own fort-building business! Good forts are always in demand, and who better to design and construct them than kids? But when Fort Builders, Inc., gets their first gig, the group has trouble agreeing on the right way to go about it. Can they learn to work together in time to build an incredible fort, or will their business be over before it even begins?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534452381
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	06/16/2020
Series:	QUIX
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	274,129
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Dee Romito is an author and former elementary school teacher. Her middle grade books include The BFF Bucket List, No Place Like Home, Postcards from Venice, and coauthored Best. Night. Ever. Her debut picture book, Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott received a starred review from Booklist. She blogs about writing at WriteforApples.com and is co-advisor of Buffalo-Niagara Children’s Writers and Illustrators. While she does her best to be a grown-up most of the time, giggling with her BFFs is still one of her all-time favorite things. You can visit her website at DeeRomito.com.

Marta Dlugolecka (a.k.a. Marta Kissi) is a freelance illustrator living and working in London. She studied illustration and animation at Kingston University and then completed her MA at the Royal College of Art. Since, Marta has been working on various children book projects as well as covers and editorial pieces for both children and adults. In her work she likes mixing her love for crafts and model making with a little bit of digital magic, with hope to create images that are both fun and emotional.

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2020

K-Gr 3—Eight-year-old Caleb is saving for the latest book in his favorite series. How can a kid earn some fast cash? He and his friends decide to put their best talents to use and open a fort-building business. Each team member brings their own unique skills and Fort Builders, Inc. is born. The first customer proves tricky, and pesky siblings combined with foul weather threaten to shut down the new enterprise, but old-fashioned teamwork, ingenuity, and perseverance get the job done. This first installment in a new "Quix" series offers a transitional chapter book with STEM appeal, promoting community, creativity, and collaboration. The diverse team of creators invites kids to get off the couch and find some like-minded neighborhood friends. A list of characters at the beginning of the book will help developing readers keep everyone straight, and a word list at the end offers the correct pronunciation and meanings of some of the more advanced vocabulary. Coming in at under 100 pages with large print, wide margins and a dialogue-heavy linear story, this book will grant emerging readers reading confidence. Black-and-white cartoon-style illustrations are large and generously sprinkled throughout the text. Plans for creating a working drawbridge round out the volume. Running around with pals, starting a business, and creating cool projects—what a terrific way to spend summer vacation! VERDICT A great choice for future engineers, entrepreneurs, and readers who enjoy a fun story that will spark the imagination.—Kate Nafz, Fair Lawn Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

2020-03-15
Kids learn teamwork when they launch a fort-building business.

When 8-year-old Caleb is $10 short for a special edition of a book from his favorite series, he enlists his best friend, Jax, to help him think up ways to earn the money. After the boys have a ball building a box fort, they decide to go into business creating forts for other kids (Jax needs money for a new soccer net). Some of the humor comes in the kids’ aping of adult language they don’t quite get: What’s an “odd job” anyway, and who hasn’t wondered if businesses use “Inc.” in their names just “to sound fancy”? In this way, the humor bolsters instead of competing with the seriousness with which the kids take their operation, empowering kids rather than laughing at them. To handle the business end, they recruit artistic Eddie (who’s saving up for a new brownie pan) to help with signs and marketing, and—when their big job, a box-fort castle for Analise’s birthday, is imperiled by Analise’s changing request—they bring professional Kiara on board. As their tight deadline looms, they adapt to unexpected obstacles and learn how to manage their team. On the cover, Caleb and Jax present white, and Eddie presents black; brown-skinned Kiara is South Asian. A glossary, discussion questions, and STEM activity add further heft; a cast of characters helps transitioning readers keep track.

Positive and upbeat. (Fiction. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews