How a House is Built

This iconographic-animated adaptation of nonfiction children's wunderkind Gail Gibbons's 1990 book uses clean lines and simple diagrams and descriptions to illustrate how a house is built. Identifying various styles of homes (including log cabin, stone, and adobe), the program focuses on a frame house, detailing the jobs of the various workers (such as the general contractor, surveyor, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, painters, and others). Including sound effects such as machinery and hammering, as well as onscreen vocabulary for the step-by-step processes (“the foundation will support the weight of the house”), the short also briefly looks at shelters of the past (including cave, igloo, and teepee). Offering a solid overview of the topic, this short—narrated by Jon Bennett, with optional read-along subtitles—is recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)