# 3- Biblioburro, A True Story from Colombia (2011)

Biblioburro, A True Story from Colombia (2011)

Jeanette Winter

Luis, a book lover living in rural Colombia, decides to share his love of books by creating a travelling library on the backs of burros named “Alfa” and “Beto”. He and the burros must cross streams and confront an armed bandit to reach the children. When they arrive, Luis has the children put on pig masks and reads them a story before allowing them to choose and borrow a book from the bag on one of the burros. During storytime, images from the story float in blue pastel-colored bubbles above the childrens’ heads.

The paintings are set against a white background in this beautifully illustrated biography of Luis Soriano, who made weekly visits to share his collection of books with 300 people in rural Colombian villages.

The story and illustrations capture the love for reading and sharing of literature implicit in many of Winter’s books, which include The Librarian of Basra. These texts lend themselves to a study of literacy across cultural groups and settings. I can't wait to read Monica Brown's version!

Here's a video to share with students as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuTswmx9TQU