Gordon Parks

Starred review from December 22, 2014
Weatherford’s (Leontyne Price: Voice of a Century) spare, lyrically formatted prose combines with Christoph’s (the Origami Science Adventures series) stylized illustrations to tell the story of 20th-century African-American Renaissance man Gordon Parks. The present-tense narrative takes readers from the birth Parks barely survived through the odd jobs of his early years to his adulthood as a self-taught photographer and later novelist, musician, photojournalist, and director. Troubled by what he sees in the nation’s capital, “Park vows to lay bare racism/ with his lens.” His iconic 1942 photograph, “American Gothic,” depicts African-American cleaning woman Ella Watson, broom in one hand and mop in another, the U.S. flag as her backdrop. “She knows all too well/ that the opportunities/ the flag symbolizes are denied her/ because of skin color.” Christoph’s spreads echo the pared narrative with a muted palette and modest styling, but their impact is powerful. One shows Parks observing black families who live in rundown alley dwellings as the shiny, white U.S. Capitol building looms in the distance. An afterword fleshes out Parks’s story and includes a few b&w photos he took, including “American Gothic.” Ages 5–8.

Starred review from February 1, 2015

Gr 1-3-This picture book biography of Gordon Parks highlights the growth of his career as a photographer. Despite receiving little encouragement at school, Parks not only excelled at photography but also wrote novels, penned poetry, and composed music. The rich, varied text ("Boiling mad, Parks vows to lay bare racism with his lens.") is complemented by the illustrations, which sharply contrast Parks's life-mostly shown in full color-with sketches of his photographs-in black-and-white or sepia tones. Parks's career, which began with fashion shots and portraits, took off when he landed a job working for the Farm Security Administration in Washington, DC. There, he became keenly aware of the inequalities between blacks and whites and began to document these differences. When his boss directed him to talk to Ella Watson, a cleaning lady in the building, he photographed her at home with her family and produced his most famous photograph: American Gothic. An author's note provides additional information and includes reproductions of four of Parks's photographs. While the book gets off to a choppy start, moving very rapidly over the photographer's early life, it provides a much-needed portrait of a talented individual and views of his work. VERDICT This effective overview is a solid addition for those looking to beef up their biography collections. Fans of Weatherford's Leontyne Price: Voice of a Century (Knopf, 2014), Becoming Billie Holiday (Wordsong, 2009), and I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer (Walker, 2007) will appreciate this attractive offering.-Myra Zarnowski, City University of New York

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2015
He aimed his camera lens at fashion models and at struggling African-American workers.Parks, a talented and multifaceted man, was born in the Midwest in 1915 and attended a school where the white teacher told the black students that they would "all end up porters and waiters." But Parks, at 25, was inspired by a magazine article and spent $7.50 on a used camera. He went on to work in Washington, D.C., for the Farm Security Administration, capturing pictures of African-Americans in their everyday lives-not the white men of the monuments. Famously, he portrayed a cleaning lady name Ella Watson in a portrait that became known as his American Gothic. Echoing the farmers in Grant Woods' painting, Watson posed in front of an American flag with a broom in one hand and a mop in the other. Weatherford writes in the present tense with intensity, carefully choosing words that concisely evoke the man. Christoph's digitally rendered illustrations brilliantly present Parks' world through strong linear images and montages of his photographs. One double-page spread hauntingly portrays run-down buildings with the Capitol Dome hovering in the distance. Parks' photography gave a powerful and memorable face to racism in America; this book gives him to young readers. (afterword, author's note, photographs) (Picture book/biography. 6-8)

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February 1, 2015
Grades 1-3 This picture book introduces gifted African American photographer Gordon Parks. Early in the narrative, Gordon's white teacher tells her young black pupils, You'll all wind up porters and waiters. Parks grew up supporting himself with odd jobs that included, yes, porter and waiter. But when he bought a used camera, it changed his life. As a photographer for a government agency, he documented the lives of black people in Washington, D.C., and the discrimination they faced. The story concludes with an account of his iconic photo American Gothic. Created with a certain elegance of line, Christoph's artwork includes many haunting, beautifully composed scenes. Although the narrative features Parks' determination to document African Americans, it offers no dates and little historical context for young children, who may also need help with terms such as porter, Life magazine, and Renaissance man. Additional biographical information appears in the back matter, along with four small photos. This handsome book will help children better understand the widespread racial segregation and discrimination in twentieth-century America.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2015
Weatherford (Sugar Hill: Harlem's Historic Neighborhood, rev. 5/14; Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane, rev. 5/08) presents the life of groundbreaking African American photographer Gordon Parks, whose iconic 1942 photo American Gothic -- showing a black cleaning woman standing in front of an American flag, holding a broom and a mop -- became a lasting symbol for civil rights, a visual metaphor for racial inequity in the United States. Straightforward present-tense text ( his white teacher tells her all-black class, You'll all wind up porters and waiters. What did she know? ) provides details about Parks's life, beginning with his 1912 birth in rural Kansas (the youngest of fifteen, he was stillborn before a doctor brought him back to life). The story goes on to describe the death of his mother and his move to Minnesota; his early years doing odd jobs, then buying his first camera ( That $7.50 is the best money he will ever spend ); his time in Chicago and a dawning social consciousness; and his work as a Farm Securities Administration photographer in Washington DC. Boiling mad, Parks vows to lay bare racism with his lens. Illustrations that recreate Parks's photographs appear throughout to mark time, capture moments, and reflect the real-life work of one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. Browns, tans, and yellows infuse the images with warmth, while cooler hues -- blues and purples -- catch the light. An appended About Gordon Parks spread tells more about this humanitarian and Renaissance man who also wrote books, directed movies (Shaft), and composed music. There's also an author's note that gives Weatherford's personal connection to Parks, but there are no sources (and there's a slight factual discrepancy between the main text and the appended information). elissa gershowitz

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2015
Straightforward present-tense text presents the life of this groundbreaking African American photographer, whose iconic 1942 photo "American Gothic" became a symbol for civil rights. As a Farm Securities Administration photographer in Washington, DC, "Parks vows to lay bare racism with his lens." Illustrations recreating Parks's photographs appear throughout. Browns, tans, and yellows infuse the images with warmth; cooler hues catch the light.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)