About
Angela Burke Kunkel is the author of the forthcoming DIGGING FOR WORDS: JOSÉ ALBERTO GUTIÉRREZ AND THE LIBRARY HE BUILT, illustrated by Paola Escobar and published by Random House/Schwartz and Wade. Angela was inspired to write DIGGING FOR WORDS after seeing a video of José Alberto Gutiérrez's incredible library. A current school librarian and former English Language Arts teacher, she has experience working with all types of readers, from the reluctant to the voracious. A graduate of Simmons College, Angela has taught in alternative and public schools in Massachusetts, as well as at a New Mexico middle school with a nationally-recognized dual education program. She now lives in Vermont, where she lives with her husband and two children. DIGGING FOR WORDS is her first picture book-- look for both English and Spanish editions in September 2020. You can learn more about Angela at www.angelakunkel.com, or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @angkunkel.
Featured Work
Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built
In the city of Bogotá, in the barrio of La Nueva Gloria, there live two Josés. One is a boy who dreams of Saturdays—that’s the day he gets to visit Paradise, the library. The second José is a garbage collector. From dusk until dawn, he scans the sidewalks as he drives, squinting in the dim light, searching household trash for hidden treasure…books! Some are stacked in neat piles, as if waiting for José́. Others take a bit more digging. Ever since he found his first book, Anna Karenina, years earlier, he’s been collecting books—thick ones and thin ones, worn ones and almost new ones—to add to the collection in his home. And on Saturdays, kids like little Jose run to the steps of Paradise to discover a world filled with books and wonder.
With an evocative text by a debut author, and rich, stunning illustrations from an up-and-coming Colombian illustrator, here is a celebration of perseverance, community, and the power of books.
