Jacob Riis's Camera: Bringing Light to Tenement Children

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.

Alexis O'Neill is the author of picture book biographies about people who made an impact on the world such as Homan Walsh (The Kite That Bridged Two Nations), Jacob Riis (Jacob Riis’s Camera), and Melvil Dewey (The Efficient, Inventive (Often Annoying) Melvil Dewey) as well as books about friendship such as in The Recess Queen, and others. In addition to writing books for kids, she is an instructor for the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. The California Reading Association awarded Alexis the Dr. Marcus Foster Memorial Award for making significant and outstanding contributions to reading throughout California. She lives in southern California with her husband and can be reached at alexisoneill.com.

Gary Kelley is the award-winning illustrator of multiple picture books. His awards include twenty-seven gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York and the Best-in-Show recognition in New York and Los Angeles Illustrators' Exhibitions. He was elected to the Society of Illustrators (NY) Hall of Fame in 2007. Visit garykelleystudio.com.