Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built by Angela Burke Kunkel

Abstract

Reviewed by: Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built by Angela Burke Kunkel Deborah Stevenson, Editor Kunkel, Angela Burke Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built; illus. by Paola Escobar. Schwartz & Wade, 2020 [40p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781984892638 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781984892652 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad 5-8 yrs In Bogotá, Columbia, little José wakes up, anxious for Saturday to come. Meanwhile, big José drives his garbage truck through the streets, rescuing from the trash any books he finds. Long a lover of books himself, José turns his found treasures into a library, which opens every Saturday for the local children to explore and borrow from; when little José comes, the two share a story, and the young boy goes home with a new book to inspire his dreams. It's an appealingly book-friendly tale, but the work of the real José Gutiérrez, who built a library out of thrown-away books in a book-starved barrio, gets underserved compared to the emphasis on little José. [End Page 90] The digital art, with an emphasis on colored-pencil style linework and mid-mod airy cheer, employs a subdued palette that adds a somber touch to the dreamy interpretations of the books both Josés read, but the cozy book-crammed library is an inviting locale. This would be a thematic partner with Brown's Waiting for the Biblioburro (BCCB 9/11) for a look at surprising ways people have created libraries or with Morales' Dreamers (BCCB 10/18) for a tribute to libraries' impact. An author's note gives information about the life of the real José Gutiérrez and the books included; a selected online bibliography is included. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois