This bilingual picture book encourages a love of books in children by building a place for them, both physically, in the form of a bookcase, and emotionally, in a child's heart. In Shin's warm artwork, adults model a love of books by constructing different types of shelves at different points in a child's development, and there is imagination, exploration, and time for bonding with every new bookcase. And when the families' personal needs for book storage are complete, they share their book love even further by building community shelves. Each two-page spread includes the text in both English and Spanish, each in a tidy, lilting rhyme scheme, and the families presented are refreshingly inclusive, encompassing a wide range of races, genders, and ages. Also available in Arabic, Mandarin, and Vietnamese versions, this cozy book speaks volumes about the fun of reading.

In rhyming text this bilingual (Spanish/English) book details the pleasures children and adults will find reading together from birth through the rest of childhood.Gentle illustrations that combine the looks of print and collage depict a pregnant Black mother preparing for the arrival of her baby by making a bookcase out of old shoeboxes. "I'll build you a bookcase before you are born / that's made out of boxes from shoes that were worn." In the next double-page spread, two White dads describe the kinds of books that will go in the bookcase for their infant child: "for books we will read in the soft morning light / and books we will read before saying good night." Each new double-page spread shows a different set of adults and children: a multiracial family, a Muslim mother and child; black, White, brown, and Asian adults and children; old and young people; and a child in a wheelchair. And each spread details the wondrous worlds books will open up: "We'll learn about bluebirds that live in a tree / and giant green turtles that nest near the sea." There's also a clear message aimed at adults: "I'll build you a bookcase for when you turn 2, / my phone tucked away so it's just me and you." Backmatter tips on reading with children reemphasize the text's message. The Spanish translation, done by Canetti, captures the mood and the rhythm of the original English text.A how-to for adults that they can share with children. (Picture book. 3-5)

This bilingual English-Spanish picture book by Fahey features English text on each verso page, with a Spanish translation on the recto. Gentle rhymes follow the first-person perspective of guardians addressing their children, beginning with -I-ll build you a bookcase before you are born/ that-s made out of boxes from shoes that were worn.- The narrative progresses with the refrain -I-ll build you a bookcase,- counting as children age from one to three, and then advocating for bookcase building to benefit others (-And let-s build a bookcase for other kids too-/ in parks and the Laundromat, even the zoo-). Shin-s illustrations, rendered in acrylic and digitally, feature subtle textures and soft colors, portraying simply featured humans of varying abilities, religions, and skin tones. A quiet encouragement of guardian-child literacy that may inspire similar collaborative projects. Ages 1-3. (Apr.)