Elementary School Kids

In the city of Bogotá, in the barrio of La Nueva Gloria, there live two Josés.

One, a garbage collector, prepares his truck for its route through wealthy neighborhoods. Señor José drives all night, scanning the sidewalks as he works, searching for hidden treasure.

The other, a younger boy, dreams of Saturday, when he can visit Señor José’s library, filled with towering stacks of books rescued from the trash.

Let me start by saying, WHO THROWS A PERFECTLY GOOD BOOK IN THE GARBAGE!?

Anyway, this picture book is 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.

I went into this story blind and spent the first half of the story a bit confused, wondering, ‘who is this younger José?’ and ‘why is he important to this story?’ I think this was done to show how kids like José look forward to visiting José Alberto Gutiérrez’s library.

Be sure to read the Author’s Note at the end of the book to learn more about José Alberto Gutiérrez and how he has impacted his community.