Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon is a new children's book published by Lee & Low Books that highlights the life and work of the late architect Phil Freelon. 

Written by Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrated by Laura Freeman, the 40-page picture book "celebrates a contemporary black STEAM role model, a man whose quiet work enabled the creation of an iconic building reflecting America's past and future," according to the publisher's website, by offering insights into Freelon's youth and personal and professional journeys through life. 

The book highlights Freelon's upbringing in an arts-saturated Philadelphia home as the son of a socially conscious businessman who attended the 1963 March on Washington and chronicles Freelon's unexpected path toward architecture. In addition, the book details the supportive role Freelon's grandfather, the Harlem Renaissance Impressionist painter Allan Randall Freelon, played in exposing the young student to sketching and landscape painting. 

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When Freelon eventually decided to study architecture, he gravitated toward a focus on socially relevant work, shying away from move profitable ventures building "casinos or prisons" and opting instead for "buildings that connect people with heritage and fill hearts with joy." That fateful decision brought Freelon a great deal of success as the principal of the Freelon Group and the designer behind many pivotal buildings that celebrate the African American experience in the United States, including, perhaps most notably, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History in Washington, D.C., which was designed in collaboration with David Adjaye and Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup.

Freelon passed away in 2019, but was able to write an afterward for the book, which is included in the text. The book is available for purchase from the Lee & Low Books website.