The Mellons build an eco house by Robin Jacobs, illustrated by Nik Neves

 The Mellons, blonde mom, brown-skinned and curly-haired dad, and their three children, Jefferson, Emily, and Marty, have "outgrown their small flat." They look at lots of different homes, but nothing is the right place for them, so they decide to build a new house. They meet Masha, the architect, who has brown skin, and a short, dyed hair cut. Masha listens to all the things the family wants in the house, but reminds them there's something very important - they need to think about the environment and design a house that is "lean, clean, and green!"

From architectural designs to building and landscaping, readers are walked through the process of building an environmentally-friendly home. From the recycled concrete to the heating system, solar panels to roof garden, "The Mellons have a forever home that is lean, clean, and green!" Along the way there are introductions to the diverse working crews, a glossary of construction terms, and detailed explanations of the processes integrated into the story.

The art is bright and blocky, with a twentieth century modern vibe, and the working crew shows a wide range of body types, hairstyles, ages, and genders. It's clearly from a British perspective, but easily understandable.

I had a hard time liking this book as it hit several of my personal dislikes - but I wanted to like it, and it's a really cool book! With the housing and economic challenges so many families are facing, I am always frustrated by so many books ignoring the financial cost of being eco-friendly. While it's mentioned several times that the house's features will eventually save money, there's no mention of the initial cost. This is obviously a wealthy family, since they can afford not only to buy land and build a house, but hire an architect to custom-design it, a construction team who are experts in eco-design, and landscapers. Stereotypically, the only mentions of money are several remarks from the father along the lines of "this sounds expensive!" or "we need to keep down costs!"

The design and explanations of the house itself are very interesting and seem to have been vetted carefully. One major thing that seems to have been overlooked is cooling - there is a lot of focus on how waste heat is used to heat the house, trapping heat in the walls, etc. There is one brief mention of windows designed to keep the home cool. There is no mention of an air-conditioning system or anything similar however. In view of the ever-increasing heat waves, especially those that have hit England, this seems to be a major oversight.

Verdict: Despite my personal feelings and thoughts on economics and ecology, this is a unique book that kids who are interested in construction will enjoy perusing. It's also a nice illustration of a very diverse group of people working in construction. I would be wary of purchasing it if your library serves a large population of families with housing insecurity though.

ISBN: 9781800660335; Published October 2023 by Cicada Books; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library