Built Together

Mina Starsiak Hawk is the co-founder and owner of Two Chicks and a Hammer, star of HGTV’s show Good Bones, and a realtor and author. She is a Midwesterner through-and-through. Mina lives in Indianapolis with her husband, Stephen and son, Jack, and their three dogs Frank, Beatrice, and Sophie.Barbara Bongini was born in Milan. She knew at an early age she wanted to be an artist. She went to an artistic high school and later enrolled in the illustration program at the European Institute of Design. After graduation, she pursued a career in children’s publishing. When not illustrating, Barbara loves spending time with her two children, watching cartoons. She also enjoys going to bookstores and building her own library of illustrated books.

Hawk, of HGTV's Good Bones fame, makes her debut with this story--a child's narrative about his sizeable family's origins. Though he lives with only his parents and 'our three goofy dogs,' the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy enjoys the community of grandparents, cousins, stepfamily, and even 'friends who Mom says might as well be family.' Sporting a tool belt and wondering in literal construction terms how the family came about, he lists off various instruments: 'I wonder if Mom and Dad built our family with a monkey wrench and pipes?' Bright, slick illustrations by Bongini (the Fairy Ponies series) depict him helping others with home projects, including tiling a kitchen and painting a house's exterior. (Hawk's fans will note visual nods to her Indianapolis home renovation business, Two Chicks and a Hammer, on the characters' clothing.) Finally consulting his parents on the most appropriate tool for the job, he's told that the true building blocks of family are love, kindness, and community, exemplified by 'celebrating the good stuff together. And by helping each other with the tough stuff.' The bare-bones story doesn't cover new ground, but readers who appreciate the author's TV show will warm to its laudable message of inclusivity and the way that families can be built: one kind, welcoming act at a time.