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PaperTigers is pleased to announce that Biblioburro: A True Story from Columbia by Jeanette Winter is one of the three books included in the Spirit of PaperTigers book set. For more information about the Spirit of PaperTigers Project, please click here.

Jeanette Winter,
Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia
Beach Lane Books, 2010.

Ages 4-8

We have all met children with a never-ending hunger for books.  Some of them have shelves full of them, but it seems there can never be too many: the prospect of a new story always whets their appetite for more.

There are other children whose hunger for books goes much deeper.  These are the children who may read a single book over and over because it is the only book they have, children who dream about that book when they are not reading it and wish they had others.  Deep in the jungles of Colombia, some of these children’s dreams have come true thanks to the ingenuity and determination of Luis Soriano, a schoolteacher and avid reader who has devised a way to bring books to these isolated communities: The Biblioburro, a mobile lending library carried on the backs of two donkeys.

Each week Luis loads up books from his private collection and carries them from his remote village of La Gloria to even more remote villages in the Colombian jungle.  Luis and his burros, Alfa and Beto, endure heat, tiredness, and even bandits as they carry their precious cargo to people hungry for books.  When Luis arrives, he reads to the children before allowing each of them to select a new book and return their books from the previous week.  Then Luis returns home and reads his own book late into the night.

With characteristic simplicity and her signature bold, bright colors, Jeanette Winter tells the beautiful story of this man who has enriched the lives of hundreds through his efforts.  Children with an insatiable appetite for reading despite full shelves and access to local libraries will appreciate the tale of the Biblioburro that brings books to children who would not have them otherwise. The fact that Luis himself lives a simple life and is willing to endure inconvenience and even danger to bring books where there are none underscores the value and power of reading to those of us who have come to take it for granted.  Biblioburro is a heartwarming profile of one man who is making the world better in a simple yet profound way.

Abigail Sawyer
September 2011

Following up on yesterday’s post about the premiere of the documentary Biblioburro: The Donkey Library, I thought I would share with you that a new children’s book about Luis Soriano and his donkey library is set to be released this summer. Waiting for the Biblioburro, written by Monica Brown, illustrated by John Parra and published by Tricycle Press, will be available starting August 9th. A portion of the sale proceeds from Waiting for the Biblioburro will go to support Luis Soriano’s BiblioBurro Foundation.

Here’s the book trailer:

Waiting for the Biblioburro is already receiving rave reviews (see below) and to celebrate it’s release Monica will be giving away three dedicated and signed copies of the book on August 9th. Visit Monica’s Facebook page for all the details.

The Horn Book, July/August 2011
“This sample of the impact of traveling librarians on rural children, inspired by a Colombian teacher-librarian [Luis Soriano], not only celebrates their work but eloquently portrays a matchless way to inspire learning: by feeding the natural hunger for story….Small, brown-faced Ana’s enthusiasm is contagious, and the satisfying denouement, in which she donates her homemade book to the traveling collection, is just right.”

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2011
“Parra’s colorful folk-style illustrations of acrylics on board bring Ana’s real and imaginary worlds to life…The book is perfect for read-alouds, with occasional, often onomatopoeic Spanish words such as “quiquiriquí,” “tacatac” and “iii-aah” adding to the fun.”

Publishers Weekly, May 9, 2011
“Parra’s naïve-styled acrylics brim with scenes of country life. A palette of salmon pinks and turquoise and sky blues, painted on board, give the book a rough-hewn, handmade quality and an innocent, childlike appeal (with her wide face, delicate features, and rouged cheeks, Ana even resembles a porcelain doll). In a metafictional ending, readers will notice that the book Ana hands the bibliotecario upon his return is this very book–fitting, as this truly is Ana’s story.”

Press release:

An Inspired Elementary School Teacher Launches a Revolution in Reading For Colombia’s Rural Children in POV’s “Biblioburro: The Donkey Library”, Premiering Tuesday, July 19, 2011, on PBS

Donated Books, Two Donkeys and One Determined Man Refashion the Bookmobile For a Region Better Known for Guns, Drugs and Poverty

A Co-­presentation With Latino Public Broadcasting

Watch the full episode. See more POV.

Luis Soriano is surely the most famous resident of La Gloria, a small town in a rural area of northern Colombia plagued by poverty, crime and armed insurrection. But Soriano’s fame has little to do with guns, drugs or politics. His reputation rests on the eight hooves of two sturdy donkeys named Alfa and Beto, his own two feet and his willingness to spend weekends tramping through rugged and dangerous backcountry. These are the components of a simple but brilliant idea using donkeys to bring a circulating library of donated books to the children in some of Colombia’s poorest and most remote towns and villages.

Carlos Rendón Zipagauta’s new documentary, Biblioburro: The Donkey Library, tells the story of 39-year-old Soriano and his traveling library from the point of view of the man himself and, one might say, his two hardworking burros. The film rides along with Soriano on one of his arduous weekend rounds and discovers a world of dense tropical beauty, nearly impassible trails, dangers both natural (snakes, swollen streams) and human (guerillas, bandits), open-air classrooms and, most wonderfully, a thirst for reading and knowledge. But Biblioburro is also a portrait of Soriano — an unassuming, small-town elementary school teacher who not only had a great idea, but has been acting on it every weekend for over a decade

Biblioburro provides a bracingly up-close sense of the determination and hard work required to saddle up each Saturday in the early morning darkness, and the sheer nerve and patience — not always expressed quietly by man or donkey — needed to brave Colombia’s poor and violence-torn hinterlands. Why would a man, and his family, persist in bearing such a burden? It soon becomes clear that Soriano is bringing more than books to the education-starved children of northern Colombia. He is bringing a gospel of education as the way the members of the next generat

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