Award-winning Oliver Jeffers will capture the hearts and minds of children and adults alike with this story of a father and daughter making plans to build a world that will keep them safe in the future. Brimming with hope but not ignoring the possibilities that the world and what happens next in it will present challenges, What We’ll Build is founded in the mundane (almost!) as the father and his daughter assemble building tools including a hammer, saw and drill – and a pig! What they go on to build including a place to store love, a hole to hide in, a wall to keep enemies out and a gate to let them, a tunnel to anywhere, a road to the stars and much more and the reasons why they may need them it is summed up in the briefest of texts and Jeffers magical, vividly coloured story- telling illustrations. Inspired by becoming a father, What We’ll Build is a childhood classic that will be shared over and over again.
A spectacular new title from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers, creator of the global phenomenon Here We Are!
What shall we build, you and I? I’ll build your future and you’ll build mine. We’ll build a watch to keep our time. A father and daughter set about laying the foundations for their life together. Using their own special tools, they get to work; building memories to cherish, a home to keep them safe and love to keep them warm.
From renowned, internationally bestselling picture-book creator and visual artist, Oliver Jeffers, comes this rare and enduring story about a parent’s boundless love, life’s endless opportunities and all we need to build a together future.
The witty images are atmospheric and full of enthralling detail Nicolette Jones / The Times
An optimistic snapshot of contemporary life, this heartfelt hug of a book ought to become a classic The Guardian
Beautiful illustrations Creative Review
There is a childlike awe and wonder about the stars and planets in the book The Irish Times
Delightfully illustrated Time
Beautifully illustrated Artists & Illustrators
This performer had assured pace and charm. The storytelling was captivating and a beautifully realised gem, with a surprise ending. Gorgeous! Audio Production Awards judges
Author
About Oliver Jeffers
Oliver Jeffers has won numerous awards and delighted millions of kids and parents alike with his beautifully hand illustrated stories.
Jeffers's picture books are wonderfully accessible. They explore themes of friendship, loneliness, independence and imagination. He has written and illustrated, or "made", as he prefers to put it, five hugely successful picture books. The first three - the "boy books" - feature a small boy who sets off on a series of daunting quests. How to Catch a Star (2004), the first of them, was inspired by a Brer Rabbit story he read as a child. In Lost and Found (2005) the boy heroically rows to the south pole for the sake of an unhappy penguin, and in The Way Back Home (2007) he rescues a young Martian whose spaceship has crashed on the moon.
The Heart and the Bottle is wholly compelling for the importance of its message and the brilliance of how that is conveyed in words and pictures. This is a book to return to time and time again says Julia Eccleshare, Lovereading4kids’ editorial expert.
Jeffers was born in Australia in 1977 and brought up in Belfast. He studied visual communication at the University of Ulster, and graduated in 2001. Jeffers became passionate about making picture books when he began to understand the subtle relationship between words and pictures – ‘that was what excited me. Until I got really involved, I hadn't realised how just a few words can totally change the meaning of a picture.’ Now living in New York, he works as a painter, designer, printmaker and installation artist, but remains very busy making picture books.
Did you know?
Oliver loves plastic food, suitcase handles and Elvis, and has developed a bizarre habit of endlessly writing lists he never reads. He remains hell bent on travelling all over the world.
You can see Oliver talking about his artwork in this video:
We have a super set of Oliver Jeffers activity pages to download :
Oliver Jeffers said“When my son was born, Here We Are was written for him as I tried to make sense of the world for both of us. Not long after our daughter was born, I realised I’d never hear the end of it if she didn’t get a book too, so it’s a good thing I was experiencing a not-dissimilar internal dialogue of transition with new parenthood. For one thing, contemplating the importance of raising a daughter in what will hopefully soon no longer be a man’s world, but more than that, this poem contemplates what home is, the importance of family, but also the strength of the invisible bonds of any loving relationship through thick and thin. It is all about the pure potential of what will come, both good and bad, and how, ultimately, people need each other. Even if that is just for someone to listen to all your plans.”
