alinaborger's review against another edition
5.0
Wow—! What a book this is, and what a LIFE James Van Der Zee led!
PB biographies often have a thread or a theme that they pull on to help the narrative hold together. This book focuses on how JV works to “make everyone look their best” —from bringing out natural smiles and expressions to adjusting things in the darkroom.
This is an especially powerful thread because, as the back matter explains, photographs of black folks at the time were often of migrant laborers or urban poor.
I highly recommend looking up some of his art after reading this remarkable book.
PB biographies often have a thread or a theme that they pull on to help the narrative hold together. This book focuses on how JV works to “make everyone look their best” —from bringing out natural smiles and expressions to adjusting things in the darkroom.
This is an especially powerful thread because, as the back matter explains, photographs of black folks at the time were often of migrant laborers or urban poor.
I highly recommend looking up some of his art after reading this remarkable book.
lady_mair's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic picture book on a corner of history I previously knew nothing about! I will definitely be adding this one to my shelves.
snazel's review against another edition
4.0
Speaking as someone who really got into photography because I love people's faces, I absolutely love that James Van Der Zee got into photography because he loved people's faces, and while he was at it he invented photoshop and documented several generations of a vibrant subculture (New York's Harlem).
stenaros's review against another edition
3.0
Read for Librarian Book Group
Picture book story of James Van Der Zee, who took portraits of people in Harlem during the 20th Century. Likable illustrations, plus actual examples of Mr. Van Der Zee's work at the end of the book.
Picture book story of James Van Der Zee, who took portraits of people in Harlem during the 20th Century. Likable illustrations, plus actual examples of Mr. Van Der Zee's work at the end of the book.
ginaperry's review against another edition
5.0
This is an absolutely gorgeous, captivating book. I love the sweeping narrative, from James' days as a young boy, until his exhibit at the MET. The author handled the complexities of his life in a poetic, but honest way. The illustrations transport you to each different time and place in James' life. You will find much to discuss after reading this book, and thankfully there are several pages of back matter to expand his biography, history, and photographic techniques during his lifetime.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful realistic acrylic paintings depict the life of African American photographer James Van Der Zee, who got his first camera as a fifth grader; it was only the town's second camera! He shot family members and townspeople, before moving to Harlem. He worked as an assistant photographer but was not allowed to take photographs of clients because of the racial prejudice of his boss. But while his (white) boss was on vacation, James did take photographs, and was good at setting his subjects at ease. Eventually he opened his own studio, where he took photos of both famous and every day folks, as well as street shots. He was also known for his retouching of photos (old school "Photoshopping" before computers), to smooth away blemishes and make his portraits perfect.
scostner's review against another edition
4.0
James VanDerZee is a perfect subject for a picture book, since his love of art and creation of photographic portraits defined his life. The acrylic on canvas illustrations show key scenes from his life in warm colors and also capture samples of his iconic style of photography. In an era when few people owned a camera, James understood its power to tell a story and preserve a memory that would be treasured for a lifetime. The methods James used, such as taking the time to get his subjects to relax and smile naturally for the camera, retouching photos to bring out the best and minimize flaws, and even using photomontage to layer images, set him apart from other photographers. But what made him of special interest to history was his interest in picturing the life of middle class people in Harlem. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Harlem on My Mind" exhibit showcased the best of his 75,000 photos and 40 years of the history of Harlem, as well as portraits of celebrities such as Florence Mills and Joe Louis. Historians are fortunate that VanDerZee was present during the Harlem Renaissance to preserve the era on film.
The text and illustrations work well together to show the passion James felt for his art and to explain what set him apart from other photographers of his time. The changing times can be seen in the clothing, setting, and even the aging of VanDerZee himself. The book also includes a bibliography, suggestions for further reading, reproductions of a few of his iconic photos, and even a list of which photos some of the illustrations were based on. This is a wonderful example of a picture book biography and perfect for units on the Harlem Renaissance, artists, or Black History Month.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through edelweiss.
The text and illustrations work well together to show the passion James felt for his art and to explain what set him apart from other photographers of his time. The changing times can be seen in the clothing, setting, and even the aging of VanDerZee himself. The book also includes a bibliography, suggestions for further reading, reproductions of a few of his iconic photos, and even a list of which photos some of the illustrations were based on. This is a wonderful example of a picture book biography and perfect for units on the Harlem Renaissance, artists, or Black History Month.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through edelweiss.
jaelikes's review against another edition
4.0
Who is surprised that I never once heard of this man in college while studying photography?!
gymnerdreader's review against another edition
5.0
Annotated Bibliography Entry: Take a Picture of Me, James Vanderzee! By Andrea J. Loney
Summary:
This book is a children's biography book about the life and work of James Vanderzee. James was born in Mississippi and spent his childhood fascinated by pictures. He struggled as an artist and felt that drawn/painted pictures often did not depict people accurately so he was drawn to the camera and the art of photography. After finally getting a camera of his own he took pictures of people until he got the opportunity to move up north to Harlem. This was during the Great Migration. In Harlem, he landed a job as a photographer's assistant, but he soon realized that job was holding him back from reaching his full potential as Racism and discrimination was commonplace during those times. Eventually, James proved to everyone in Harlem that he was a great photographer and he opened his own studio. As the years went by cameras became much more affordable and people could take their own photos, thus causing James' studio to lose popularity. In the end though, James managed to bounce back when his photos were used in an exhibition showcasing the Harlem Renaissance.
Personal Response:
I like that this book featured someone that is relatively unknown to Black history and I like how it depicted a photographer and depicted photography as the art form that it is. I, personally have never heard of James Vanderzee prior to reading this book. So reading this book was a learning experience for me and I was able to take something out of it even though I am a college student. My point is oftentimes in schools when we celebrate Black History Month we are only celebrating the most well known African Americans and I feel that is a tad problematic as there are so many other talented African Americans that never get the spotlight or credit they deserve. In school, I never learned about James Vanderzee, but I learned of other people involved in the Harlem Renaissance, such as Langston Hughes. Don't get me wrong: it is important that we are learning about individuals, such as Langston Hughes, but I think it would be nice to learn about other history makers too. Just some of my thoughts!
Descriptions of Illustrations
In my view, the illustrations in this book is the definition of artsy. These pictures are artwork in and of itself. I just loved the colors of pictures it brought such life and character to what the words were saying. I thought the pictures were very appealing because of this. I loved looking at them because it really did enhance the story! I could definitely see children loving these illustrations because of the concepts of color and shadow. The pictures really did pop!
Classroom Connections:
There is a lot that teachers could use this book for. As I mentioned before about the lesser known people of Black History Month I think this book would make an excellent selection as a read aloud. Other than that teachers could set up various centers where students could go and learn about various Black history makers. They could even learn about the Great Migration and Harlem Renaissance during these centers. I think this would be a great way for students to gain some diversity on the African Americans who changed history. While I do believe this book could be used in a Black History Month center, teachers could also use this book to talk about cause/effect. I think that biography books would be a great way to introduce that concept. Teachers could also do a webquest of sorts where students could go and learn more information about James Vanderzee. It could be like a scavenger hunt sort of thing, which would give them practice doing research on the internet. Definitely a book that could be used in the classroom for a multitude of different things.
Summary:
This book is a children's biography book about the life and work of James Vanderzee. James was born in Mississippi and spent his childhood fascinated by pictures. He struggled as an artist and felt that drawn/painted pictures often did not depict people accurately so he was drawn to the camera and the art of photography. After finally getting a camera of his own he took pictures of people until he got the opportunity to move up north to Harlem. This was during the Great Migration. In Harlem, he landed a job as a photographer's assistant, but he soon realized that job was holding him back from reaching his full potential as Racism and discrimination was commonplace during those times. Eventually, James proved to everyone in Harlem that he was a great photographer and he opened his own studio. As the years went by cameras became much more affordable and people could take their own photos, thus causing James' studio to lose popularity. In the end though, James managed to bounce back when his photos were used in an exhibition showcasing the Harlem Renaissance.
Personal Response:
I like that this book featured someone that is relatively unknown to Black history and I like how it depicted a photographer and depicted photography as the art form that it is. I, personally have never heard of James Vanderzee prior to reading this book. So reading this book was a learning experience for me and I was able to take something out of it even though I am a college student. My point is oftentimes in schools when we celebrate Black History Month we are only celebrating the most well known African Americans and I feel that is a tad problematic as there are so many other talented African Americans that never get the spotlight or credit they deserve. In school, I never learned about James Vanderzee, but I learned of other people involved in the Harlem Renaissance, such as Langston Hughes. Don't get me wrong: it is important that we are learning about individuals, such as Langston Hughes, but I think it would be nice to learn about other history makers too. Just some of my thoughts!
Descriptions of Illustrations
In my view, the illustrations in this book is the definition of artsy. These pictures are artwork in and of itself. I just loved the colors of pictures it brought such life and character to what the words were saying. I thought the pictures were very appealing because of this. I loved looking at them because it really did enhance the story! I could definitely see children loving these illustrations because of the concepts of color and shadow. The pictures really did pop!
Classroom Connections:
There is a lot that teachers could use this book for. As I mentioned before about the lesser known people of Black History Month I think this book would make an excellent selection as a read aloud. Other than that teachers could set up various centers where students could go and learn about various Black history makers. They could even learn about the Great Migration and Harlem Renaissance during these centers. I think this would be a great way for students to gain some diversity on the African Americans who changed history. While I do believe this book could be used in a Black History Month center, teachers could also use this book to talk about cause/effect. I think that biography books would be a great way to introduce that concept. Teachers could also do a webquest of sorts where students could go and learn more information about James Vanderzee. It could be like a scavenger hunt sort of thing, which would give them practice doing research on the internet. Definitely a book that could be used in the classroom for a multitude of different things.