Whose Hands Are These?

A Community Helper Guessing Book

  • Interest Level: Preschool - Grade 3
  • Reading Level: Grade 2

If your hands can mix and mash, what job might you have?

Hands can wiggle, hands can clap.
Hands can wrap and flap and tap.
But hands can help—so raise yours, please!
Can you guess? Whose hands are these?

What if your hands reach, wrench, yank, and crank? The hands in this book—and the people attached to them—do all sorts of helpful work. And together, these helpers make their community a safe and fun place to live.

As you read, keep an eye out for community members who make repeat appearances! Can you guess all the jobs based on the actions of these busy hands?

Miranda Paul is an award-winning children’s book author. Her recent books include One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia, a Junior Library Guild selection. She lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with her husband and two children. Find out more at www.mirandapaul.com and www.oneplasticbag.com.

Luciana Navarro Powell was born in Brazil and worked as a product and graphic designer and before becoming an illustrator. She incorporates watercolor, photographs, and scanned objects into her artwork. She lives with her husband and two children in San Diego, California.

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978-1-4677-5214-5
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Interest Level Preschool - Grade 3
Reading Level Grade 2
Genre Picture Books, Social Studies
Category 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, 5KN: Expository Literature
Copyright 2016
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Millbrook Press ™
Language English
Number of Pages 32
Publication Date 2016-01-01
Reading Counts! Level 1.4
Text Type Informational/Explanatory
BISACS JNF011000, JNF038000, JNF021050
Dewey 331.7
Graphics Full-color illustrations
Dimensions 9.75 x 9.75
Lexile 420
Guided Reading Level N
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Author/Illustrator note, Awards, Original artwork, and Reviewed

Author: Miranda Paul

Miranda Paul is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for children, including One Plastic Bag and Boston Globe–Horn Book Honoree Nine Months Before a Baby Is Born. Miranda is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books and serves as its mentorship chair. In 2024 she received the Notable Wisconsin Authors Award for her contributions to children’s literature. Learn more at mirandapaul.com.

Illustrator: Luciana Navarro Powell

Luciana Navarro Powell was born in Brazil and worked as a product and graphic designer before becoming an illustrator. She incorporates watercolor, photographs, and scanned objects into her artwork. She lives in San Diego, California.

Awards

  • ILA Teacher's Choices, Winner, 2017

Reviews

School Library Journal

“Paul and Powell have created an interactive rhyming gem. . . . A well-organized and attractive look at careers.”—School Library Journal

Booklist

“Care has been taken to ensure that people of all ages, races, and genders are depicted doing the work. . . . [T]he text is linguistically complex and fun, helping readers to build vocabulary with words associated with the professions. . . . An engaging, well-executed resource.”—Booklist

Kirkus Reviews

“Rhyming verses and illustrations of hands working give readers the opportunity to guess what community jobs people do . . . [f]rom the commonplace to those that rarely appear in picture books. . . . A great addition to libraries’ and teacher’s shelves for units on community helpers.”—Kirkus Reviews