Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

One of the leading documentary photographers of the twentieth century" comes to life in Weatherford's latest historical work. Weatherford dedicates the volume to "all who dare to see," and that is exactly what Dorothea Lange did: she dared to see and documented what she saw—hunger, poverty, soup kitchens, breadlines, internment camps, and bloody strikes. Weatherford never talks down to her audience as she describes how Lange tackled these subjects, using figurative language and rich vocabulary to tell her story: "Dorothea donned a cloak of invisibility to pass the vagabonds in New York's Bowery neighborhood." She concludes the volume with a full treatment of how Lange's iconic Migrant Mother photograph came to be. Green's debut as a picture-book illustrator is brilliant. The cover perfectly captures Lange perched on a car, camera ready, surrounded by the gray landscape of the Dust Bowl. Green varies her palette, from bright scenes with Matisse-like images and colors to angular gray cityscapes to landscapes and mountain vistas done in lovely earth tones. Wisely, she doesn't try to imitate Lange's photographs too closely, simply painting them in black and white and making the images of people simple and child-friendly. A two-page "About Dorothea Lange" section concludes the volume with additional information. A fine introduction to an important American artist. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

ALA Booklist (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

In a world where images are littered across multiple platforms seconds after they're captured, it's important for children to understand the difference one photograph can make. In this picture-book biography, the life of photographer Dorothea Lange is covered with admiration for her work and respect for the struggles her subjects were facing. Weatherford's text is rich with figurative language and sentences that, though brief, emphasize Lange's pivotal place in history. She also doesn't shy away from the reality of life during the Great Depression, showing stark views of poverty and hardship that are matched well with Green's evocative paintings. The boldly colored illustrations range from a flapper party to a wide expanse of open coast to a painting of Lange's most iconic photograph. End material gives additional information on Lange that would be helpful for a parent or adult, as it reads a bit older than the book's primary audience. A well-researched and inviting introduction to a woman whose important, compassionate art captured the nation's attention.

Horn Book (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

In this picture book biography, Weatherford explains how Lange was "more than a photographer, she was a storyteller with a camera." Clear prose--including some zoomed-in details, such as the backstory of Migrant Mother--details the lifelong struggles, empathy, and eye-opening experiences behind Lange's photography of America's impoverished. Green's painterly illustrations, too, focus on small moments of large importance to Lange's story.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

One of the leading documentary photographers of the twentieth century" comes to life in Weatherford's latest historical work. Weatherford dedicates the volume to "all who dare to see," and that is exactly what Dorothea Lange did: she dared to see and documented what she saw—hunger, poverty, soup kitchens, breadlines, internment camps, and bloody strikes. Weatherford never talks down to her audience as she describes how Lange tackled these subjects, using figurative language and rich vocabulary to tell her story: "Dorothea donned a cloak of invisibility to pass the vagabonds in New York's Bowery neighborhood." She concludes the volume with a full treatment of how Lange's iconic Migrant Mother photograph came to be. Green's debut as a picture-book illustrator is brilliant. The cover perfectly captures Lange perched on a car, camera ready, surrounded by the gray landscape of the Dust Bowl. Green varies her palette, from bright scenes with Matisse-like images and colors to angular gray cityscapes to landscapes and mountain vistas done in lovely earth tones. Wisely, she doesn't try to imitate Lange's photographs too closely, simply painting them in black and white and making the images of people simple and child-friendly. A two-page "About Dorothea Lange" section concludes the volume with additional information. A fine introduction to an important American artist. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Dorothea Lange was always drawn to photography, but it wasn-t until the Great Depression that she became inspired to tell human stories through her camera. Weatherford (Freedom in Congo Square) writes eloquently of Lange-s creative drive and compassion: -Dorothea hit the road to show America to Americans. What others neglected or ignored, she noticed and preserved on film.- Working in a thick, mossy style and a creamy color palette, newcomer Green shows Lange photographing impoverished Americans, including homeless men on Skid Row and Florence Owens Thompson, the subject of her famous image, Migrant Mother. Weatherford emphasizes how Lange was not only an artist driven to make art but an activist whose images generated awareness of suffering and injustice. Ages 4-8. Author-s agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (Feb.)

School Library Journal (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

K-Gr 2 Dorothea Lange saw the human misery of the Depression and photographed it, helping to bring aid to those in need. Though polio left her with a limping gait, it did not keep this remarkable woman from making a difference in the world and using her insight to tell stories with her camera. The subjects she chosesharecroppers in the South, migrant workers in the West, and, later, Japanese Americans in internment campsfaced poverty and injustice. In condensing her life for this simple picture book introduction for young readers and listeners, Weatherford and Green have sadly flattened it. Without background, the intended audience is unlikely to recognize how extraordinary Lange was, especially as a woman working professionally in her time, as an advocate for social justice, and as an artist. Swiftly summarizing events in smoothly written prose, the author ends with Lange's encounter with Florence Owens Thompson, the migrant mother of her iconic photograph. The digitally painted illustrations have a 1930s look, but the grayscale images of a few of Lange's famous photographs lack the emotion of the originals. (There are three small reproductions in the back matter.) VERDICT For a younger audience than that of Barb Rosenstock's Dorothea's Eyes : Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth , this might provide a bridge but is not a necessary purchase.— Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD