This book tells the story of the photographer behind the iconic photo American Gothic and how he came to shoot it. It was an image I recognized, but I hadn’t known anything about Gordon Parks before I read this book.

The story is written in present tense and moves briskly and passionately. The story starts with Parks’ remarkable survival at birth, but it moves quickly into the story of how he found his subject and how he set up the shot. The illustrations are lovely.

I also loved the sans serif typeface in the book. Its pared-down, modern look fit both the subject of the book and also the tone of the book. It’s a lovely book to read and to hold and it tells an important story.

Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Jamey Christoph. Albert Whitman: 2015.