Built to Last
by Minh Lê; illus. by Dan Santat
Primary    Knopf    40 pp.
4/24    9780593569177    $18.99
Library ed.  9780593569184    $21.99
e-book ed.  9780593569191    $10.99

In this entertaining picture book, the duo behind Drawn Together (rev. 7/18) explores friendship and resilience through imaginative play. The two main characters first meet as toddlers after bumping into each other while playing with blocks. As they grow older, their friendship and their creations evolve: the ever-more-elaborate structures incorporate Asian mythological motifs and use a variety of materials, including cardboard, tape, wood, and paint. Each time, their project fails. An argument over the collapse of a creation leads to an important epiphany: “Some things are too important to give up on. Some things deserve to be repaired, no matter how many times they break.” Lê’s succinct, expressive storytelling and Santat’s vivid colored-pencil, watercolor, and digital illustrations are both energetic celebrations of these particular, fictional projects and friendships and a possible metaphor for all such creative collaborations (and those characters do bear some resemblance to their creators).

From the May/June 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.