by Dee Romito, illustrated by Marta Kissi; Aladdin Quix; 2020.

The Birthday Castle is the first of four titles planned for the Fort Builders, Inc. beginning chapter book series, part of the Quix Fast Fun Reads line from Aladdin. The series centers on a resourceful group of friends who start a fort-building business in order to earn money. Their inaugural project is constructing a pink castle for a friend’s birthday celebration. Analise has specific ideas for what she’d like in her custom-made castle; a few changes of heart once the project is underway present a snag or two for the team. Nevertheless, Fort Builders, Inc. intends to make their customer’s dream a reality, because that’s what friends–and successful business people–do.

  

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“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”—Arthur Ashe

  

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Why this book? Why will it matter to kids?

Kids in the 7-9 year-old age range seem drawn to forts of any size or shape, to making things, and to hanging out with their buddies. Transitioning readers will appreciate the independence and resourcefulness the characters exhibit as they go about constructing the project that launches their business. A list of the cast of characters, enlarged and bolded text peppered throughout the story, and a word list serve to support newly independent readers. A step-by-step “How to Build a Drawbridge” activity completes this solid first chapter book package. Though STEM connections are an obvious feature, the overriding value of this story is exemplifying the characteristics of friendship, teamwork, and finding creative approaches to overcoming obstacles.

  

Grade level: Grades 1-2

 

Social-Emotional Learning Themes

Creativity, empathy, compassion, tenacity, perseverance, persistence, inspiration, encouragement, acceptance, perspective, self-reliance, respect, effort, understanding, connection, self-assurance, dedication, resourcefulness, self-awareness, diligence, fortitude, integrity, trustworthiness, loyalty, empowerment, generosity of spirit, collaboration

 

Content Area Connections

English Language Arts, Science, Art

 

Using This Book in the Classroom

Hit the Ground Running

Ready Resources for Educators, Homeschoolers, and Parents

View the snappy trailer for The Birthday Castle featuring Arlo the puppet chatting with the author here.

A set of simple discussion questions are offered at the back of the book.

An interview focusing on the launch of the Fort Builders, Inc. series can be found here.

  

Write Away!

Ideas to prompt writing

Let us build your dream fort is the Fort Builders Inc. motto. Their first customer, Analise, has a dream castle in mind. She places an order, but then asks Fort Builders Inc. to make a number of changes. Kiara explains that design is important. Having a customer agree to the plan before building begins is smart business. What is your dream fort? Write a description of what it would look like. Be specific. Could Fort Builders, Inc. build your dream fort from your description?

The Fort Builders, Inc. team comes to realize that it’s best if each person uses their best skills to get the job done. If you were a part of Fort Builders, Inc. what job would be yours? Explain.

Fort Builders, Inc. faces a number of problems and setbacks before they reach success on their first project. List in sequence each problem. Give details. Explain how each problem was solved. Write in complete sentences.

At the end of the story, the Fort Builders, Inc. partners surprise Caleb by offering him their portion of the profits from the castle project so he can buy the special edition book he is saving for. Caleb says this is generous. What other words would you use to describe the Fort Builders, Inc. team? Imagine you are Caleb. Write a paragraph describing how you feel when your Fort Builders, Inc. friends surprise you with their generosity.

 

Poetry Break 

Related poetry to recite before or following the reading of this book

Poetry breaks fit perfectly into brief moments in the day—from opening or closing the daily morning meeting to lining up for lunch; from zipping up backpacks and jackets to transitioning from one subject to the next. Reading a poem typically takes less than a minute, yet it can introduce or reinforce a concept, celebrate language, exemplify rhythm, enhance vocabulary, expand understanding, increase attention span, initiate reflection, or summon a giggle. And, poetry soothes the spirit.

Listed below are selected poetry books related to the Fort Builders Inc. theme: 

• Construction People poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Ellen Shi
• Steady Hands: Poems About Work by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy
• With My Hands: Poems About Making Things by Amy VanDerwater, illustrated by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson

  

And Then There’s This…
Enrichment activities, related books, online resources, craft projects, and ideas for further study

Find “How to Build a Drawbridge” STEM activity, which can be completed in six simple steps (the last of which is “Have fun!”), at the back of the book.

What is your dream fort? Draw a picture of the fort ‘s design from the front, side, and back, as Kiara suggests to the team in The Birthday Castle. Could Fort Builders, Inc. build your dream fort from your plan?

The following books are of related interest: 

• Ada Twist’s Big Project Book for Stellar Scientists by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts (companion to Ada Twist, Scientist)
• Awesome STEAM Activities series, including Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids by Christina Schul and Awesome Robotics Projects for Kids by Bob Katovich
• Be A Maker by Katey Howes, illustrated by Elizabet Vuković
• Building Our House by Jonathan Bean
• How To Build Your Own Country by Valerie Wyatt, illustrated by Fred Rix
• Iggy Peck’s Big Project Book for Amazing Architects by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts (companion to Iggy Peck, Architect)
• The Questioneers chapter book series based on Andrea Beaty’s picture book characters, Ada Twist, Rosie Revere, Iggy Peck, and Sofia Valdez
• Rosie Revere’s Big Project Book for Bold Engineers by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts (companion to Rosie Revere, Engineer)

School Library Journal has compiled a nifty collection of science resources for families to access over the summer here.

Meet the Author 

Dee Romito is an author of books for young readers. Her middle grade books include The BFF Bucket List, No Place Like Home, Postcards from Venice, and co-authored Best.Night.Ever. (Aladdin/S&S). Her debut picture book, Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott (Little Bee Books) received a starred review from Booklist and a Crystal Kite Award. Next up is her chapter book series, Fort Builders, Inc. (Aladdin/S&S). Dee blogs about writing at WriteforApples.com and is Co-Founder of Buffalo-Niagara Children’s Writers and Illustrators (BNCWI). 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.​

 

 

 

 

Backstory: Q & A with Dee Romito

Dee generously gave of her time to respond to a few questions about the creation of the Fort Builders, Inc series and her writing career.

Judy Bradbury: How did you come to write the Fort Builders, Inc. series? What kernel seeded its creation?

Dee Romito: I was trying to think of ideas for a chapter book series and I asked myself, “What do kids that age like to do?” My kids had been building box forts and there was a big one in our playroom. That was my ah-ha moment. I always say that ideas come from everywhere—you just have to keep your mind open to what’s going on around you.

JB: The first book in the Fort Builders, Inc. series is The Birthday Castle. How did you land on having the characters make a castle for a neighbor’s birthday party?

DR: I needed a reason a young kid would be willing to pay for a custom fort to be built—because really, part of the fun is building your own. Once I created the character of Analise, I just knew she’d want a castle fort for her birthday party.

JB: What projects can readers look forward to in upcoming books in the Fort Builders, Inc. series?

DR: The next book in the series, Happy Tails Lodge, comes out in August and the Fort Builders team will be working on pet forts. The third book is called Battle of the Blanket Forts. The team goes away to camp and they find themselves in an epic fort-building battle. The fourth book is still a work-in-progress.

 

JB: Tell about one hurdle you experienced in the creation of The Birthday Castle or provide a memorable (or humorous!) anecdote related to the making of this book.

DR: I’ve written middle grade books and picture books, but chapter books were a new challenge for me. It might sound easy to write a 4,000-word book instead of a 40,000-word book, but I had to learn how to fit all the same plot points onto fewer pages. My editor kept telling me to make things happen sooner, but I was used to having so much space to lead up to things. I also had to test out my instructions for the drawbridge—or rather, my family had to. I gave them the directions and watched as they worked through them so I could tweak the steps where I needed to.

JB: Teamwork is at the heart of The Birthday Castle. This group of kids manages to be successful at working together toward a common goal despite a number of hurdles and setbacks. Tell us about how you came to this theme and how you determined which aspects of teamwork to highlight.

DR: The Birthday Castle is a story about kids who join together to work toward their goal, so teamwork was a natural theme for the book. I also wanted to have each of the books cover some of the main character traits taught in schools, so I focused on teamwork, cooperation, perseverance, and friendship in book one. I also focus each book on The Leader in Me (the youth version of the 7 Habits). Book one is to be proactive (You’re in charge) and begin with the end in mind (Have a plan).

JB: The Fort Builders, Inc. series presents fun and doable STEM activities. In this book the kids make a castle. What else do you have in store for them?

DR: Since forts can be made from all kinds of materials, the kids will be building some different (and fun!) structures. And for readers, book one includes an engineering activity, book two has some math the team uses in the book, and book three has a yummy science activity. 😊 I still have to come up with something fun for book four!

JB: What did you learn from creating The Fort Builders, Inc. series?

DR: One of the things about a series is that the characters will stay with it throughout. With each book I write, I have to keep things consistent and keep track of each character’s family, hobbies, talents, etc. And I really had to think ahead because whatever I put in book one, becomes part of the bigger story over the course of the series.

JB: What would surprise readers to learn about you or about the creation of The Fort Builders, Inc. series?

DR: I like to sneak fun things into my books. For example, I’m a big Star Wars fan and there’s a Star Wars reference in almost all of my stories. I also name characters after friends, former students, and my kids’ friends. In books one and two of the Fort Builders series, most of the characters are named after my kids’ elementary school teachers.

JB: What do you hope readers will take away from The Fort Builders, Inc. series?

DR: I’d love for kids to pick these books up and be excited about reading. And I hope they see how working together and appreciating everyone’s talents is a powerful way to reach your goals.

 JB: How do you see The Fort Builders, Inc. series connecting to curriculum?

DR: The books are meant to show examples of positive character traits and challenges people face, so they can be used for character education. But there are also some great features for teachers and parents in the Quix line—each book has a cast of characters, word list, discussion questions, and a STEM activity. They can also be used to dive deeper into things such as voice and word choice in both reading and writing.

JB: What is one question you wish I had asked, and what is your answer?

DR: Where can all the fort builders out there find you to share their own forts?

Answer: You can find me on social media as Dee Romito or @writeforapples and on my website at deeromito.com. I’d love to see photos of your fort creations!

About the Illustrator

Fort Builders, Inc. is illustrated by London-based artist Marta Kissi.

Over to You…

Join the conversation! Offer your thoughts on the featured question related to this month’s post. You are also welcome to post a general comment.

What recently published beginning chapter book would you recommend? Share the title and author of the book in the comments section, and briefly tell why it makes your list.

News & Updates

Wearing a mask continues to be vitally important for our safety as we resume entering public places this summer. #KidLitForMasks and #MasksSaveLives endeavor to spread awareness. Read more here.

Library Journal has put together a list of sources offering a variety of fun masks for book lovers. Find it here.

In response to the need for a child-friendly explanation of COVID-19 and necessary social distancing measures, Magination Press has published an e-book, A Kid’s Guide to Coronavirus, and is making it available free to families. Hear it read aloud here.

As a follow-up to last month’s post, check out the NCTE Build Your Stack blog post offering antiracist texts suggestions for educators at various grade levels.

“Books on Tap Live” is featuring an interview with Daniel Bernstrom, author of Big Papa and the Time Machine on July 15 at 4pm Eastern. (Interview will be archived here.) Fifteen copies of his book will be given away. Read my interview with Daniel and ideas for using his book in my March post here.