Digging for Words
José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
A gorgeous and inspiring picture book based on the life of José Alberto Gutiérrez, a garbage collector in Bogotá, Colombia who started a library with a single discarded book found on his route.
In the city of Bogata, in the barrio of La Nueva Gloria, there live two Joses. One is a boy who dreams of Saturdays-- that's the day he gets to visit Paradise, the library. The second Jose is a garbage collector. From dusk until dawn, he scans the sidewalks as he drives, squinting in the dim light, searching household trash for hidden treasure . . . books! Some are stacked in neat piles, as if waiting for José́. Others take a bit more digging. Ever since he found his first book, Anna Karenina, years earlier, he's been collecting books--thick ones and thin ones, worn ones and almost new ones-- to add to the collection in his home. And on Saturdays, kids like little Jose run to the steps of Paradise to discover a world filled with books and wonder.
With an evocative text by a debut author, and rich, stunning illustrations from an up-and-coming Colombian illustrator, here is a celebration of perseverance, community, and the power of books.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Spotlighting Jos Alberto Guti rrez, who founded the first library in his Bogot barrio by rescuing books from the trash, this moving tale details the power and pleasure of books, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Guti rrez's foundation, La Fuerza de las Palabras. Employing the present tense, Kunkel absorbs readers with graceful prose that seamlessly incorporates Spanish, centering two Jos s: one is a child who loves the library, one is the nighttime garbage collector who established it. With its small text size and elevated diction, the prose may initially intimidate, but paragraphs prove engaging ("The day stretches out/ before him, like the streets,/ like the hills"). Stylized digital illustrations by Escobar richly enhance the nonfiction narrative, and an author's note offers more about Guti rrez as well as selected online sources. Ages 4 8.
