Written by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Eric Velasquez
A very interesting biography told through verse. I really enjoyed learning more about Schomburg. However, unfortunately the book is not something I think kids will pick up or read on their own. It would be a great read aloud for teachers to do over several days for African American history or biographies.
Review by Jessica Riggs, Robert Frost Elementary Media Center
Rating: ★★★½✩ (3.5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 4-7
Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro–Puerto Rican named Arturo Schomburg. This law clerk’s life’s passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora and bring to light the achievements of people of African descent through the ages. When Schomburg’s collection became so big it began to overflow his house (and his wife threatened to mutiny), he turned to the New York Public Library, where he created and curated a collection that was the cornerstone of a new Negro Division. A century later, his groundbreaking collection, known as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has become a beacon to scholars all over the world.
Schomburg The Man Who Built a Library
Written by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Eric Velasquez
Candlewick Press
45 pages
Release Date: September 12, 2017
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
