Grandad built our house is a new building safety book filled with poignant advice and cautionary tales from children all over Ireland. Created in partnership with the Health and Safety Authority, Kids’ Own, Kilkenny Education Centre and the Association of Teachers’ Education Centres in Ireland (ATECI), the book launched on 1 December 2015 by Minister for Business and Employment, Gerald Nash T.D.

Grandad built our house will be distributed to primary schools and libraries nationwide and will also be available to buy from the Kids’ Own online bookshop from 1 December.

How we made the book 

Primary school children from across Ireland took part in a competition led by the HSA about life and safety in the construction industry, submitting creative writing, drawings, paintings and photographs. Some of the themes the children explored were family perspectives on the life and work of a builder, working around machinery and equipment hazards, the risks for children in entering construction sites, encountering other hazards on site (e.g. chemicals, asbestos) and the use of safety clothing.

Kids’ Own led a series of creative workshops with competition winners in early summer 2015 at Education Centres in Sligo, Athlone, Limerick, Kilkenny, Dublin West and Navan.