JACOB RIIS'S CAMERA: Bringing Light to Tenement Children- A Picture Book Biography

Congratulations to my newest follower, Janet Frenck Sheets who won CAVE DADA PICKY EATER form last week's blog. Here's a hint to my faithful followers. When I offer to give you extra chances by sharing my blog on social media or becoming a new follower, take me up on it! Many times those people win! 

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Picture book biographies fascinate me. In fact, I'm so intrigued by this genre that I'm writing one myself. I recently had my manuscript critiqued by awesome picture book author, Kirsten Larson, who helped me figure out my story's inciting incident, mid-point, and plot points. I had no idea that Save the Cat elements could be applied to nonfiction picture books!

With Kirsten's instruction fresh in my mind, I decided to analyze another wonderful curriculum resource published by Calkins Creek: Jacob Riis's Camera: Bringing Light to Tenement Children written by Alexis O' Neill and illustrated by Gary Kelley.

REVIEW

Before Jacob Riis became a ground-breaking photographer, he was a twelve-year-old boy who hated Rag Hall; a rat-infested dwelling in his town of Ribe, Denmark. And before he arrived in America in 1870 to make his fortune and win the rich mill owner's daughter hand in marriage, he became a carpenter.

Jacob soon discovered that "jobs for immigrants were hard to find, hard to keep." He worked whenever he found employment and slept wherever he could; in abandoned barns, field, and in dirty disease-infested homeless shelters.  "He vowed to put an end to them someday."

One evening, the principal of the telegraph school where he'd been taking a course found him penniless and alone. The principal recommended him for a job as a reporter. That inciting incident started Jacob on a path that would change his life forever.

Jacob became a reporter, an editor, and even owned his own newspaper. But then he started working for The New York Times as a police reporter. Every night when he walked home he passed New York City's worst slum, Mulberry Bend. 

Jacob wrote vivid articles about life in the tenements. Yet his words failed to ignite change. The appalling conditions did not improve. 

If only Jacob could show others what he saw in the slums--rooms packed with people, rooms dark both day and night. How could he shine light into those places?

Then one day, Jacob found the answer...

Here's the midpoint of the book: Jacob discovers Blitzlicht, a special flash powder which photographers used to light up dark places. He and two amateur photographers captured pictures of the dark tenements, but they tired of the job.

Jacob did not. He bought a small four-by-five-inch wooden box camera. Here is one of the verse poems scattered throughout the narrative depicting this plot point:

He practiced taking pictures. 

He practiced using flash powder. 

Twice, he set fire to dwellings. 

Once, he even set fire to himself. 

But he didn't give up.  

With words and pictures, Jacob finally found a way to make the Board of Health pay attention.

Jacob projected life-sized photographs of the slums to church groups, missions, and charities. Finally, the people of New York City started seeing the "plight of the city's poor who lived in squalor."

In 1890, Jacob published How the Other Half Lives. One of the men who read his book was the newly appointed president of the Police Board, Theodore Roosevelt. The two became life long friends and together they eradicated those slums. 

 

In place of these slums, Mulberry Bend Park opened. A place for children and families. A place

flooded with sunlight,  

feathered with soft grass, 

bubbling with children playing. 

I hope you'll notice the progression of plot points within these sample illustrations. Like Jacob himself, Gary Kelley transformed the dreary slums into places of light and color.

EXTRAS

For curriculum resources, including some of Jacob Riis's original photographs, see this page on Alexis O' Neil's website.  The nine pages of back matter include information about Jacob's life, his work, a timeline, a glossary, and an amazing list of his accomplishments. 

Here are two videos. The first includes Alexis' journey of writing this book and the many layers that went into it. The second is a presentation using photographs from How the Other Half Lives.

                                                     Book Talk by Alexis O' Neill

Riis's 'Layman Sermon"

No giveaway this week, I'm saving this book as a curriculum resource for my grandchildren. If you teach 3-6th grade, I think this book would help your students, children, or grandchildren see what poverty looks like--and what a determined person can do to bring about change. 

We are All That's Left: A Review and a Great Audio CD for You

Congratulations to Danielle Hammelef who won BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME from last week's blog.

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I always enjoy sharing amazing books and a young adult author who I'm unfamiliar with. That's what you'll find if you read, or listen to, Carrie Arcos' book, We Are All That's Left (Philomel, 2018).  Both narrators, Laura Knight Keating and Elisabeth Rodgers, perform the book with clarity, fervor, and excellence. (Please keep in mind that quotes may not be exact; I took notes as I  did other tasks.)

REVIEW

Told in dual points of view, Ms. Arcos provides readers with an intimate look at the effects of the Bosnian War as well as a very personal experience with modern day terrorism. If you're not familiar with this civil war, you might want to read about it first.

The book opens with a view of the River Drina and the bridge that crosses it. The bridge plays an important part in the story and also symbolizes the connection between Zara and her mother, Nadja. 

Quickly, the reader discovers that Zara feels shut out from her mother's life. Although Zara knows that her mother lived through the Bosnian War and she hears the screams from her nightmares, Nadja never speaks about it. Zara doesn't go anywhere without her camera, but her mother can't stand the sound of a camera clicking. Zara concludes, We have nothing in common except our sea green eyes.

Then, a terrorist attacks.

On a summer day, Zara and her brother Benny are at a farmer's market with their mother. Without warning, a bomb goes off, their lives are shattered, and Zara is left holding her mother's yellow ballet slipper.

At that point, the novel switches to Nadja's story in 1992. She's a teenager in love with a Serb teen photographer, Marco. They both plans to study in Sarajevo. And even though they are different ethnically, who cares? They are both Bosnians.

Then, war breaks out. 

The story flits back and forth between the present in which Zara deals with severe physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological wounds, and Nadja's heart-rending, horrific story. Nadja is in a coma as a result of the attack and Zara experiences a wide range of emotions. Their silence seems no different than what is normal between them, but Zara fears that her mother will die and they'll never truly know each her. 

Before the attack, Zara had enrolled in a photography class. Although she feels like a freak with bandages across her face, she decides to attend. Each student must create a photo story. The instructor prompts: "What do you want the viewer to feel? Look for stories around you. What story are you in?"

Zara finds a box full of old letters and photos that Marco took. She feels like she's discovered a treasure which leads her to anger and grief over the grandparents (and uncle) she never knew. I’ve peaked over an abyss I didn’t know existed.

The book holds a sense of timelessness. The events are different in time and place, but Zara grapples with the violence her mother experienced and the ISIS attack against her community haunt her day and night. My emptiness is all that's left. 

Zara meets Joseph who is also searching for meaning in suffering. Zara wonders how God allows terrorist attacks. Joseph shares his spiritual journey, but more than anything, becomes a friend with whom Zara can unburden herself. By listening and understanding he helps Zara put back together the pieces of her broken self and her shattered life. 

I listened to this at the same time that I was reading For Black Girls Like Me. Mother abandonment is a theme in both books and both fathers are overwhelmed and not quite sure how to help their daughters. At one point Zara's father tells her: "People fear what they do not know." Even though it is true, that hardly satisfies her emotionally.  

Zara's photography teacher asks the class to consider their photo stories and ask, "What is the character’s narrative and is it true?" Her photography project bridges the gap between mother and daughter and brings healing to their relationship. 

When Nadja comes out of the coma, Zara spends hours in the hospital talking to her and hearing her mother's story. Zara concludes, "Maybe God is love. I have no choice but to use the suffering. Love and forgiveness go hand in hand. I survived and am still surviving." 

Here is an audio snippet so you can sample this powerful book. 

GIVEAWAY

I'm going to give away this book in conjunction with the January issue of Talking Story on Eastern Europe. Leave me a comment (with your email address if you are new to my blog) and I'll add your name to the list. Hang in there--this book is worth waiting for. But if you don't want to wait until then, get a copy now for yourself or the young adult reader in your life! (Continental United States only.) Giveaway ends January 20.