An SCBWI Crystal Kite Award Winner
A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year
You may be familiar with Adams's iconic black-and-white nature photographs. But do you know about the artist who created these images?
As a child, Ansel Adams just couldn't sit still. He felt trapped indoors and never walked anywhere--he ran. Even when he sat, his feet danced. But in nature, Ansel felt right at home. He fell in love with the gusting gales of the Golden Gate, the quiet whisper of Lobos Creek, the icy white of Yosemite Valley, and countless other remarkable natural sights.
From his early days in San Francisco to the height of his glory nationwide, Antsy Ansel chronicles a restless boy's path to becoming an iconic nature photographer.
A Christy Ottaviano Book
"In an era of hyper-medication for hyper kids, Ansel Adams is a role model for hyper kids. This fine book tells the true story of how one boy who couldn't sit still found his joy and his calling outdoors in the natural world. Mountains, streams and backyards aren't a panacea, but for many kids, they can make all the difference. How any other children, like antsy Ansel, might give us great gifts in the future, if we give them the gift of nature today?" -- Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" and "Vitamin N
The story flows well, varying from brief, informative statements to high-toned pronouncements to impressionistic language. Like the text, the handsome digital-collage illustrations course evenly through Adams' childhood and teen years. . . An interesting addition to biography collections. --Booklist
Using vibrant, exclamatory language, Jenson-Elliot paints a picture of a young Ansel Adams as a boy "on fire for learning," captivated by nature from an early age and always on the move. . . While Adams (1902-1984) mostly photographed nature in black and white, Hale goes straight for purple mountain majesties in her subtly textured collages, which include several vertically oriented spreads that allow her to fully reflect the height of sequoia trees or Yosemite's High Sierra. An inspiring account of one man's lifelong love affair with the great outdoors. --Publishers Weekly
Jenson-Elliott's lyrical text uses typography to reflect the photographer's buoyant spirit. The visuals are a perfect complement to the text . . . An excellent introductory biography to inspire elementary students to look at art and the outdoors in a different way.- School Library Journal
Sonorous language, including alliteration, brings readers close to Ansel's experiences in nature . . . Hale's collages . . . make excellent use of textures in depicting the natural world. Orientation and design elements, too, are thoughtfully employed; a vertical spread of Adams hiking the High Sierra, for example, captures its "icy white" and "breathless height" marvelously.- The Horn Book
Cindy Jenson-Elliott is the author of many books for young readers, including the celebrated Weeds Find a Way illustrated by Carolyn Fisher. She is a freelance writer for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and educational publishers, as well as a teacher and natural history instructor. She lives in San Diego, California, with her family.
CHRISTY HALE has illustrated many picture books and is also the author of The East-West House. She lives in Palo Alto, California, with her husband and their daughter.
Target Age: 5-9
Henry Holt & Company
Pub Date: September 06, 2016
0.5" H x 10.1" L x 10.1" W
32 pages
hardcover