Tool School, written by Joan Holub, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Shane M. 
Summary: Tool School is a book about five friends who go to school together. The friends were all tools, there was a hammer, a screwdriver, a saw, pliers, and a measuring tape. The five tools each love to learn and they all have very big ideas and large amounts of energy. The five tools first hopped onto the bus to go to their new school. The tools were ready to have fun in school and make new friends while working together as a team. They did puzzles, learned some games, made their own name tags and sang rhymes to remember safety rules. The tools were now ready to build and show off their individual skills. But, when they were each trying to build something on their own, they couldn’t do it. The teacher taught the tools that they needed to work together as a crew to complete the job. By working as a team and cooperating with each other, the tools created their own toolbox. After this, they smiled and cheered and their teacher was very proud of them for taking turns and being so polite. On their way home the tools cheered again and they said bye to their friends. The next day they will see their fellow tool friends at school again.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This book can be used in classrooms to teach readers how to work together to complete a goal. Also, it helps show how to make friends with fellow classmates. In addition, the book promotes a positive attitude and manners such as saying please and thank you frequently and always keeping a smile on your face. Tool School talks about cooperation which can benefit readers and help them overcome fears of talking to others such as their classmates and teachers which will overall help them make new friends. The pictures are very colorful and bright which further shows the happy feeling of the book. There is a lot of rhyming in the text, which young readers will probably enjoy. All of the tools are wearing safety glasses, just like all tool users should. The Cool Tool Tips at the end are informative and funny. I disagree with some of the other reviews and think this book would appeal to young readers with an interest in tools. It would pair great with either toy tools or real tools on a library book display.