Langston Hughes, photographed by Charles R. Smith, Jr.
My People
Ginny Seo Books / Atheneum, 2009.

Age 3 and older

“The night is beautiful. / So the faces of my people.” The full-hearted affirmation of Langston Hughes’s celebratory poem is given stirring visual accompaniment by Charles R. Smith, Jr. in this volume featuring black-and-white photographs of Black faces young and old, dark and light, joyful and soulful. Smith captures his subjects from varying angles and distances, creating ever-changing interest in the design. The photographs, tinged with sepia, are striking against the black background of the pages—each face is like the sun: shining and warm. Page spreads feature one to three people; sometimes carefully juxtaposed portraits, sometimes individuals interacting. Thumbnails of additional portraits grace some of the page borders, while larger images are features on the endpapers of this singular volume.

Megan Schliesman
November 2009