Brick by brick by Heidi Woodward Sheffield

 

Mi papi es fuerte - my papi is strong. He's a bricklayer. His arms are like stone.

Each day Papi heads off to work and Luis heads off to school. Luis imagines his papi working with the bricks and mixing the mortar to build the city. When Luis sits down to enjoy his lunch papi is also eating "mama's special empanada" and he is drinking cinnamon horchata. 

Luis has a dream that one day his family will have a house of their own and perhaps he will even be allowed to have a dog. Finally one weekend, Papi tells Luis he has a surprise. Luis puts on his father's big hard hat which covers his eyes. The pair drive across the city and arrive at their new house where his mother is waiting and yes there is a new puppy too. 

"Tonight I dream in my house. Nuestra casa papa siempre - our always house."

As you can see this is partly a dual language text in English and Spanish. The illustrations are made using collage which at times seems almost tactile. This warm-hearted story of a hard working family shows that dreams can come true. When you look into the background of the illustrations you will see the important story words - build, dream, I can, hola, adios and bye. Time is marked in this story by tiny details. It clearly took time to build their new house. As the story opens there are spring flowers in their apartment window box and on the day of the surprise visit it is Halloween. 

Publisher blurb: Papi is a bricklayer, and he works hard every day to help build the city, brick by brick. His son, Luis, works hard too–in school, book by book. Papi climbs scaffolds, makes mortar, and shovels sand. Luis climbs on the playground and molds clay into tiny bricks to make buildings, just like Papi. Together, they dream big about their future as they work to make those dreams come true. And then one Saturday, Papi surprises Luis with something special he’s built for their family, brick by brick.

When I see the words "Nancy Paulsen Books" on the cover or in-print information on a book I always anticipate a book of the highest quality and as you can see this book is an Ezra Jack Keats award winner (2021) too. In this video Heidi reads her book. Here is an interview with Heidi. Here is one quote:

Picture books are like haikus, in their brevity but also in their condensed meaning. They are the perfect marriage of words and images. I believe picture books are for all ages. There’s an initial simplicity that gives way to nuance, and a boiling down of word and picture that leads to a beautiful richness.

Take a look at the extensive Pinterest of Construction books collected by my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything. Here are some companion reads: