Read & Think · Against the Odds

The Boy Who Built 2,500 Libraries

Too poor for a single book, he grew up to open thousands of library doors.

Name

Date

Andrew Carnegie, the once-penniless boy who grew up to fund about 2,500 free libraries, in a 1913 portrait. Portrait: Theodore C. Marceau, 1913, public domain.

Imagine a boy who loved stories but could not afford a single book of his own. Andrew Carnegie was that boy — and he grew up to become one of the richest men in the world, then spent his fortune building about 2,500 free public libraries so no child would ever be shut out of a book the way he once was.

Andrew was born in 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland, into a poor family. His father wove cloth by hand, but new machines were taking that work away. In 1848, when Andrew was twelve, the family sailed across the ocean to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, hoping for a better life.

That better life started small. Andrew's first job was as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill, changing spools of thread through long, noisy days for just $1.20 a week. Next he became a telegraph messenger boy, racing messages across the city and teaching himself to understand the clicking code by ear.

Books were still out of reach — until a kind man named Colonel James Anderson opened his personal library of 400 books to working boys every Saturday night. Andrew borrowed one after another, and he quietly promised himself that someday he would help other poor children find books too.

As he grew up, Andrew worked for the railroad, made clever investments, and then turned to steel. His company used the Bessemer process to make steel faster and cheaper than ever, and that strong metal built America's railroads, bridges, and towering buildings. Andrew became astonishingly wealthy.

In 1901 he sold his steel company for more than $300 million. But he did not want to die rich. He believed in an idea he called The Gospel of Wealth: people with great fortunes should give them away to help others. Carnegie gave away almost 90 percent of everything he had.

And he kept his childhood promise. Along with Carnegie Hall in New York and many schools, he funded roughly 2,500 libraries where anyone could walk in and read for free. Andrew died in 1919, but every one of those library doors still opens on a promise a poor boy once made to himself.

Source: Facts drawn from the public historical record; portrait credited on the page.

The Boy Who Built 2,500 LibrariesComprehension

Check that you read it

Fill each blank with the right word from the box.

Word bank: libraries · Scotland · bobbin · Bessemer · Anderson

Andrew Carnegie built about 2,500 free public libraries so any child could read.
He was born in 1835 in the town of Dunfermline, Scotland.
Andrew's very first job was as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill.
His company used the Bessemer process to make steel faster and cheaper.
Colonel James Anderson opened his library of 400 books to working boys.

Choose the best answer

Which sentence best states the main idea of Andrew Carnegie's story?
- A. A poor boy who loved books grew rich and gave his fortune away to build free libraries.
- B. A wealthy man in Scotland decided to sell steel to railroad companies.
- C. A boy invented the telegraph and became famous around the world.
- D. A weaver spent his life teaching his son how to make cloth by hand.
What was Andrew's very first job after his family came to America?
- A. A telegraph operator for the railroad
- B. A bobbin boy in a cotton mill
- C. The owner of a steel factory
- D. A librarian who lent out books
Why did Carnegie most likely build so many free libraries?
- A. He wanted a new way to sell more steel.
- B. He remembered how much it hurt to have no books as a boy.
- C. He needed a safe place to store all his money.
- D. The government ordered him to spend his fortune.

The Boy Who Built 2,500 LibrariesVocabulary

Word cross

Use what you read to fill the puzzle. Every clue is answered somewhere in the article.

1B

2M

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3L

L

O

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4B

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B

5B

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B

6A

K

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7S

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8S

C

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L

A

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D

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R

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9C

A

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Across

The cotton ___ where Andrew had his first American job.
The kind of 'boy' Andrew was in his first mill job, changing thread spools.
The country where Andrew was born in 1835.
Andrew's last name — the boy who grew up to build libraries.

Down

As a boy, Andrew could not afford these treasures.
Free reading places Carnegie built about 2,500 of.
The ___ process made steel faster and cheaper.
Colonel James ___, who lent his books to working boys.
The strong metal Andrew's company made for bridges and rails.

The Boy Who Built 2,500 LibrariesCritical Thinking

Now think

There isn't one right answer here. Explain your thinking — the reasons matter more than the answer.

1 · Some people call Andrew Carnegie a hero. Point to evidence from the article that supports that word. Is there anything about his story that might make it more complicated than a simple hero tale?

For the teacherA strong answer cites specific evidence (giving away nearly 90 percent of his fortune, building 2,500 libraries) and shows awareness that his wealth came from steel and the workers who made it, weighing both sides rather than just repeating 'hero.'

2 · Trace the line from one thing that happened to Andrew as a boy to something big he did as a grown man. How did his childhood shape his choices?

For the teacherA strong answer connects cause and effect clearly — for example, Colonel Anderson lending books to a boy who had none leading Carnegie to fund thousands of free libraries — and explains the link in the student's own words.

3 · Imagine you suddenly had more money than you could ever spend. Would you give most of it away like Carnegie did, or keep it? Explain your reasons.

For the teacherA strong answer takes a clear position and supports it with reasons, weighing a trade-off such as helping others against personal security; there is no single correct choice, so judge the quality of the thinking.