Julio C. Tello was a famous Indigenous Peruvian Archaeologist and is known as the founder of modern Peruvian archaeology. This national icon is the subject of the wonderful picture book SHARUKO: EL ARQUEOLOGO PERUANO JULIO C. TELLO/ PERUVIAN ARCHAEOLOGIST JULIO C. TELLO by Monica Brown and Illustrated by Elisa Chavarri.
It is biographical picture book that follows Julio C. Tello, affectionately nicknamed, Sharuko, throughout his life. His nickname Sharuko means “brave” in Quechua, a native Peruvian language.
Julio Tello makes an archaeological discovery during his adolescence that foreshadows how his life will turn out. Brown beautifully crafts this biographical piece written in English and Spanish that truly highlights Indigenous culture and their profound contributions.
Julio Tello had a truly captivating life and is a scientist that everyone should know. He contributed immensely to archaeology, Peru, and Indigenous representation.
I really enjoyed reading about Peru and Peruvian history through the lens of a Native Peruvian that made sure representation mattered way before it became a hashtag.
This was a story that formed a real connection for me and my kids. My son really enjoyed the skull depiction and my daughter related to the Peruvian dress. We read the book in both English and Spanish. My children were really captivated by the illustrations and each picked their favorite page.
With this book, we discussed more than just Julio C. Tello. Geographically, we talked about Peru’s location and surrounding countries. It was nice to have a map in the book as reference. We talked about any connections they have made with Peru and they described a character on a Nickelodeon show, the Casagrandes, the has a brief episode regarding Peru. We even had a quality Spanish language with this book.
If your children are huge into the non-fiction genre like mine, this book will definitely delight.
Thanks for stopping by! After you get this book, tell me what you think in the comments below!
Enjoy!
Maya
