Monica Brown‘s picture book Waiting for the Biblioburro has been receiving rave reviews since it was released this past August. What inspired Monica to write a book about Columbian literacy advocate Luis Soriano and his donkey library? Here she shares “the story behind the story”:
I love librarians. Like me, (and I’ll bet you too if you are reading this), librarians are book people. Book 
people find joy between the pages of a book, but their passion doesn’t stop there. True book people must share books with others. They believe that placing books in young hands and sharing stories with young minds is meaningful. Luis Soriano is a book person. Luis first came to my attention when I read the New York Times article, “Acclaimed Colombian Institution has 4,800 books and 10 legs” by Simon Romero. Fascinated, I did some research and came across Valentina Canavesio’s short film Biblioburro—The Donkey Library. The story filled me with joy and not a little pride in the resourcefulness and passion of the Latino culture that Luis and I share. Growing up, Luis Soriano did not have the benefit of extensive formal studies and unlimited financial resources. What he did have was vision—and two donkeys named Alfa and Beto. For years, Maestro Soriano has delivered books in rural Colombia to children who don’t have access to libraries. Some don’t even have teachers or schools. But Luis, who received his school degree at 16, and then became a teacher and librarian, has made it his life’s work to change that.
When I wrote Waiting for the Biblioburro, I didn’t want to presume to tell Luis’s story for him, so I created a fictional story inspired by his, from the perspective of a little girl whose life he changes. I contacted Mr. Romero, the writer, and Ms Canavesio, the filmmaker, and through them, reached Luis himself. I knew as I was writing this book that I wanted Luis’s blessing–I was lucky enough to get it, and to get to know Luis over the phone and through emails. I also wanted to make sure that his foundation shared in the profits from this work, which my publisher made happen. When I first spoke to Luis over the phone and across thousands of miles, I was felt that I was in the presence of greatness—he is great man with a great heart. Luis shared with me his wish to sow the seeds of creativity and to cultivate dreams in the minds of children.
After talking with Luis, I felt inspired to write an imaginative rendering of Luis’s legacy—a legacy not only of literacy, but of sharing one’s own stories with the world. My story is about a creative little girl named Ana who loves books and reading, but who doesn’t have access to a library, books, or even a teacher. It’s her story of waiting, discovery, and finding a voice. I hope that Ana’s story, like Luis Soriano’s vision, will inspire us all to be literacy workers and activist librarians, teachers, parents, and friends. What would you do to bring books to children? Would you ride a donkey for miles, risking attack and robbery? Would you build a library with your own hands? Luis Soriano did. And we can too.
Watch the book trailer for Waiting for the Biblioburro here.
Monica Brown
July 7, 2011
A portion of the sale proceeds from Waitin
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
