Common Sense Media Review
By Regan McMahon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Photographer's method celebrated in gorgeous watercolors.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
EVERYWHERE BEAUTY IS HARLEM: THE VISION OF PHOTOGRAPHER ROY DECARAVA follows DeCarava as he gets off work, grabs his camera, and takes the subway to Harlem, the neighborhood he grew up in, to walk the streets and take photographs. He's looking for anything interesting that catches his eye, and the simplest scenes of everyday urban life are beautiful and special to him -- kids playing in hydrant spray, a boy drawing on the sidewalk with chalk, a mom taking a photo of her little boy, a crumpled soda can. When he settles on something, or someone, SNAP! he takes the photo.
Is It Any Good?
This penetrating, meditative look at a photographer's vision celebrates both the artist and his subject, the people of Harlem. And, amazingly, Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem accomplishes this investigation of the act of photography using just words and watercolors. A quick search online reveals the photographs of Roy DeCarava that illustrator E.B. Lewis' paintings are based on, but they are not exact replicas. They are as active and evocative as the photos, and they capture a moment frozen in time as the photos do. But they are beautiful in their own right. Author Gary Golio's spare, poetic text and selected quotes from DeCarava impart much quiet wisdom about taking the time to notice and seek out the beauty around you.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem shows what's in the mind of a photographer when he takes a picture. What do you think about when you take a picture? What are you trying to capture?
Why was photographing ordinary Black life in Harlem considered extraordinary in the 1940s?
How does the photographer DeCarava model curiosity in a neighborhood he already knows well? What are you curious about where you live? What people or things might you find to photograph or draw pictures of when walking through your neighborhood?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : E.B. Lewis
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Arts , History
- Character Strengths : Communication , Curiosity
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Calkins Creek
- Publication date : January 16, 2024
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 7 - 10
- Number of pages : 48
- Available on : Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Awards : Common Sense Selection , Coretta Scott King Medal and Honors
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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