Brick by Brick

by Heidi Woodward Sheffield

A striking debut celebrating the warm bond between a little boy and his dad as they work hard to achieve their dreams

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.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Construction, Childrens, Latinx, Spanish Literature, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2020

Reviews

[Abby Johnson]

This is a sweet and colorful story of a little boy who admires his bricklayer father and dreams that his family will have a house of their own one day. This is a great choice for young construction fans and would make a great book to display around Father's Day.

[Readersaurus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these textured collage pictures. They are full of depth and sweet family feeling.

This is a story about a young child's pride in his big, strong, Papi, and of a family that, brick by brick, is building their dream.

Sheffield's words and pictures show clear parallels between Papi's good feeling about his work and its importance, and young Luis' pride in his own schoolwork, and his courage on the playground. Side by side illustrations show: like parent, like child. With just a few words, this picture book says a lot about love and the power of parental example.

Sheffield also captures the joy and love between parents and young children in the faces she creates - You feel that hug!

A few words of Spanish are mixed into the text and pictures, and mirrored in English. Children will enjoy making the connection.

[Shaye Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story showcasing the pride of young Luis in the hard work his Papi does as a brick layer. We catch glimpses of Luis at school while his father is working in the hot sun, building a surprise for Luis and his Mama. The collage art is so beautiful and I love the inclusion of onamonapia, throughout. I would definitely put this one down as a Caldecott contender. The illustrations were created using photographs digital painting, and collage. Sheffield used brick photos to create Papi and Luis, emphasizing their strength and fortitude.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

#ownvoices disappointment

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brick by Brick was written and illustrated by Heidi Woodward Sheffield in 2020. I found this book through the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation website, which awarded this book their 2021 Illustrator award.
The story is about a young boy, Luis, who’s Papi is a bricklayer and who dreams of a house for his family. Papi works hard for his family (he is “tired but smiling” when picking up Luis from school) and ultimately surprises his son with a “new house made of Papi’s bricks”.
While Papi works, we see parallels between his actions and Luis’. Papi climbs a scaffold, and on the opposite page, Luis sits atop a jungle gym, reaching for the sky. Both Luis and Papi work hard to “build their future and their dreams brick by brick and book by the book.” It does a great job showing the similarities between Luis’ and Papi’s actions, even though Luis is at school and Papi is at work.
The illustrations are done in a collage style and are full of texture. They’re exciting and vibrant and capture both Luis’ and Papi’s feelings and energy.
This book is great for young readers because of the sensory language, such as the use of onomatopoeia, that brings the story to life. There are a few phrases that appear in both English and Spanish, making this book inclusive to ESL readers or readers who come from Latin/Hispanic backgrounds. Readers may feel a connection with Luis and how he emulates his father. Additionally, the story feels like it could take place anywhere, increasing its relatability.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Papi is strong, because he works hard all day long as a bricklayer. He builds walls, spreading the mortar, tapping the brick in place, and scraping the drips. He climbs high on scaffolds. Luis doesn’t mind heights either, climbing to the top of the jungle gym. They have a dream of a their own house, but it’s a “someday” dream. Father and child have the same lunches of empanada and horchata. Then both head back to work and school. At night, Papi returns home, hot and tired. On Saturday, Papi has a surprise. After a long drive, they pull up to a brick house, their new always home!

Told in simple language just right for smaller children, this book speaks to the hard work, resilience and patience it takes to create a home. Sheffield cleverly uses repetition in her text and mirrors the experience of father and son throughout their day.

The design of the book is exceptional. She has created the illustrations from photographs, collage and digital painting. She also notes that Luis and his father are formed from photographs of bricks, strong and resolute. The warm color palette is brightened with blue skies. The city skyline is formed from bricks as well as words like “dream” and “build.”

Strong and vibrant. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Maiss Lukyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Brick By Brick” is a perfect book for children who are in 1st grade. It is a fiction book that shows an aspect of how this father and son will do anything to make their dreams happen. Kids in those grades will enjoy staying interested in the material.

It is especially inspiring to all children to show how hard their parents work. This is a powerful story about this Hispanic father and son. The father would work hard all day by doing things with his bare hands. The little kid makes stuff with clay, and it represents what his dad does at work. This young boy admires his dad. In the end, his dad surprised his family by building a house for them.

I would choose this book for my classroom library since representation matters. This story shows a lot of positive things; this father is an extremely hard worker and does everything for his family. This book also gives many different messages, but the one I truly love is that you should always work hard for your dreams.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luis is proud of his bricklayer Papi. He describes how strong his Papi is, and all the work he does to help build the city. Luis likens his own work to his father’s – he, too, reaches high, at the playground, and works hard – Luis’s work is book by book, as his father lays brick by brick. He dreams of having his own house with his family happy inside, and by the end of the book, the family moves into a new house of bricks made by his Papi. This is such a loving warm portrayal of a hard working Latinx family. The palette is also warm, in brick colors of red and orange and brown. The images are even made using photos of bricks, along with collage and digital paint. Spanish words, which are easily understood in context, are sprinkled throughout. A winning book to add to cultural diversity in library collections.

[Carol V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brick by Brick gets the house built. This story takes a look at a young Hispanic family working hard, day by day, at their jobs...Dad is a bricklayer. The little child's job is to learn hard at school. Mama makes a nice home. As the story begins they are in the city living in tall apartments. But in time, daddy has a surprise. Hints are strong. Just look at the illustrations as they drive a distance. The little boy opens his eyes to a big surprise as daddy says when! The illustrations are done with great care using collage and special materials special to the author/illustrator. The skintones come from real brick colors. This is an excellent book to show children how hard work pays off!

[Connie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is from a little boys point of view of his dad and all of his hard work to provide for their family. Brick by brick he helps build the city and book by book the little boy reads in school. The little boy dreams of their new forever home. One Saturday they load up in the car and drive to a surprise that was built from his fathers bricks.

This book teaches that nothing is free and hard work will get you what you want. It is a bit of insight for our kids as to what their parents do for them. The little boy sees that his father is tired but he also still shows up with a smile every day.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possible contender for Mock Caldecott awards. A great book showing the love between a father and son as they both work towards their own goals in very similar manners. The father is a bricklayer and builds the city brick by brick. The boy is a student and builds knowledge book by book. They both take a break and eat their lunch, they both love their family and they both want a home of their own. What a great book for a father to read to his children at bedtime!!

[Sabrina Hindle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book had a great message about working for your dreams. In the story, you can see how proud Luis is of his Papi and how inspired he is. He sees his father working hard and be determined to fulfill his dreams and it makes Luis want to do the same. Luis works hard in school like his father works hard at his job to help chase his dreams. This tale of determination and hard work is something that I think students need to hear.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is more than one way to think of diversity, and this not only has a loving bilingual family, but they are also working class, working towards owning their own "always house". The collage art is very creative, using photographs effectively. But it would be awfully busy for a large storytime crowd to see everything. This is a great ode of a child loving and admiring his strong father, comparing his father building with bricks, to himself building with books.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author illustrator Heidi Woodward Sheffield has created as heart-warming story of a family working towards achieving their dream using partially bilingual text. Here inviting illustrations combine photography, digital painting, antique lace , embroidery and textile images, and collage. Warmth and love exude from every page.

BWKCP

[Rebecca Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story. I love the use of images of actual bricks in the illustrations. The illustrations were all around wonderful. There were father son parallels in their daily situations, and the relationship between Papi and son were very sweet. I loved the words used to describe Papi's work, and it would allow children to participate in the story.

[Ginny Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the collage illustrations and the comparison of the father’s work with the schoolwork the boy does. My students and I didn’t like how the boy doesn’t get the dog he very clearly wanted. Would be great to read aloud if having students create a vision board or an “Everything is Possible” dream board.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the parallel actions between the father at work and the son at school. They dream of owning their own home, and after much work, end up owning one.
I appreciate the integration of Spanish vocabulary in the text.
The illustrations were created using photographs, digital painting, and collage. Readers will want to spend time poring over them.

[Jessie]

This was such a sweet story of a child looking up to their father. I liked the comparisons between what the father does at work and what the child does at school. For me, it's definitely book by book as well! The illustrations became very colorful toward the end of the book when Papi built a new house, and I liked how it ended with the hopefulness of flowers growing in the spring.

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really represents hard work and having big dreams for yourself and your family. The little boy looks up to his papi in all that he does and wants to be just like him in every way. I like that this book has sayings in Spanish and then are repeated in English. This can help young readers learn some Spanish terms and can also make bilingual students excited to read to their friends.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A warm fuzzy book about a little boy that wants to be just like his father, a masonry worker. The pages show how hard the father works on the top of the page and the boy copying his skills at school on the bottom of the page. Spanish words are sprinkled throughout. It is a little long for storytime but would make a great lower elementary read a loud.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luis is proud of his bricklaying Papi as both work hard to build a solid future -- Papi through bricks, and Luis through books. Photographic and digital collage lend texture to the warm illustrations.

[Ellon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this. The boys’ love and feeling of pride toward his father is all-encompassing. I love how the boy is “mimicking” his father’s actions in his own way. The illustrations are great, especially the words that are included in buildings. I can’t wait to get this for my library.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this is a great story about a hardworking father and his little boy admiring his hard work. It's hard for me, given today's climate, to not view this book with a critical lens. There seems to be a bit of stereotyping done in this book, but I also appreciate the diverse characters

[kiki thelibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the collage art in this book, and the story was so touching... it almost brought tears to my eyes. The parallels between father and son were so sweet! And, a whole book focused on brown people - hallelujah!More of this, please.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story of the loving bond between young Luis and his Papi. Papi is a bricklayer, and Luis is in awe of his strong father. He works hard too, in school. Together they realize a wonderful dream for their family.
Beautiful collage illustrations highlight this loving family story.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young boy describes his father's work as a brick layer. He talks about how he dreams of their "always house," a forever home that his father will build. At the end, the boy's father surprises him with an always house, made with Papi's bricks.

[Katelynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A boy admires his hard-working father, a brick layer. He goes to school and mimics a lot of what his dad does at work. His dad saves up to buy them a house. This one reminded me of my own dad. A really great - and bilingual! - story! The collage art is gorgeous too.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really cute. I liked the Spanish phrases in it that were then re-stated in English. Fun way to learn some Spanish! Also the material type art in here was really fun and different. It definitely held my little one's attention!

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy and his father dream of their always home, with a garden and a dog. The father works hard as a bricklayer and the boy works hard in school...and their hard work and dedication pay off when they finally get their own home!

[Phoenix Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the perfect book for children who speak English and Spanish. They tell the story using both languages but you are still able to tell the story no matter if you speak Spanish or English. It also teaches a lesson that if you work hard you usually can get what you want in the end.