Jacob Riis's Camera: Bringing Light to Tenement Children (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781629798660)

This revealing biography of a pioneering photojournalist and social reformer Jacob Riis shows how he brought to light one of the worst social justice issues plaguing New York City in the late 1800s--the tenement housing crisis--using newly invented flash photography.

Jacob Riis was familiar with poverty. He did his best to combat it in his hometown of Ribe, Denmark, and he experienced it when he immigrated to the United States in 1870. Jobs for immigrants were hard to get and keep, and Jacob often found himself penniless, sleeping on the streets or in filthy homeless shelters. When he became a journalist, Jacob couldn't stop seeing the poverty in the city around him. He began to photograph overcrowded tenement buildings and their impoverished residents, using newly developed flash powder to illuminate the constantly dark rooms to expose the unacceptable conditions. His photographs inspired the people of New York to take action. Gary Kelley's detailed illustrations perfectly accompany Alexis O'Neill's engaging text in this STEAM title for young readers.

Author: Alexis O'Neill
ISBN-10: 1629798665
ISBN-13: 9781629798660
Publisher: Calkins Creek Books
Language: English
Published: 03/18/2020
Pages: 48
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 11.10h x 8.80w x 0.50d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2020
Booklist 03/15/2020 pg. 66
Publishers Weekly 04/06/2020
School Library Journal 05/01/2020 pg. 72
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2020