Schomburg The Man Who Built A Library by Carole Boston Weatherford

Title: Schomburg The Man Who Built A Library

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrations: Eric Velasquez

Publisher: Candlewick Press

ISBN: 9780763680466

Review:

The American Negro must remake his post in order to make his future…History must restore what slavery took away.

-Arturo Schomburg

Arturo Schomburg was an Afro-Puerto Rican born in 1874. As a child he loved the written word. He read books about inventors, astronomers and draftsmen. In 1891 at the age of seventeen he landed in New York. He learned English and taught Spanish. He found work as a messenger and clerk at a law firm. It was then that a spark ignited in him and drove him to want to know about Africana. He learned about Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglas and his boyhood hero Toussaint Louverture. Not only did he collect books, letters and art he also learned that slaves did rise up to fight for freedom. Arturo learned that African roots spread through may supposed white family trees such as John James Audubon, Alexandre Dumas, Alexander Pushkin and even Ludwig van Beethoven.

Overtime, Arturo’s need to collect information grew to the point his home had been overflowing with book collections. This resulted in his collections becoming a part of the New York Public library, better known as the Division of Negro History, Literature and Prints. Soon art, etchings, paintings and sculpture collections grew as well.

 Parents and teachers will find that sharing this book and all of its glory with children. It will enlighten and encourage them to learn more about their heritage. The imagery found on these pages is vibrant art and depicts Arturo throughout his life’s work as he moved through the history he cultivated.