PHILADELPHIA, July 13, 2021 – Families with infants and toddlers across Philadelphia have begun to receive a new book during their pediatric visits. The board book, entitled I’ll Build You a Bookcase, is inspired by Philadelphia families and carries an important message for adults within its sweet rhythm and rhyme: You are your child’s first and most important teacher. Written by Jean Ciborowski Fahey and designed for children from birth to age three, the book was born from an unconventional collaboration and contest for children’s book manuscripts that yielded entries from around the world.

With support from the William Penn Foundation, many partners came together to create and distribute a book with a powerful purpose, including an internationally recognized innovation firm, a family literacy specialist, the largest multicultural children’s book publisher in the U.S., an award-winning illustrator, and the nation’s leading pediatric literacy model. Continue reading →