Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee!

By Andrea J. Loney

Book Overview

NAACP Image Awards Nominee - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

A biography of James Van Der Zee, innovative and celebrated African American photographer of the Harlem Renaissance.

James VanDerZee was just a young boy when he saved enough money to buy his first camera. He took photos of his family, classmates, and anyone who would sit still for a portrait. By the fifth grade, James was the school photographer and unofficial town photographer.

Eventually he outgrew his small town and moved to the exciting, fast-paced world of New York City. After being told by his boss that no one would want his or her photo taken "by a black man," James opened his own portrait studio in Harlem. He took photographs of legendary figures of the Harlem Renaissance-politicians such as Marcus Garvey, performers including Florence Mills, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Mamie Smith-and ordinary folks in the neighborhood too. Everyone wanted fancy portraits by James VanDerZee.

Winner of Lee & Low's New Voices Award, Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee tells the story of a groundbreaking artist who chronicled an important era in Harlem and showed the beauty and pride of its people.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1620142600
• ISBN13: 9781620142608
• Release Date: July 2017
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.2" x 10.7"
• Age Range: 7 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 6