The Traveling Camera: Lewis Hine and the Fight to End Child Labor

Product Description
This picture book chronicles the travels of Lewis Hine, who used his camera to document child labor in the 20th century
Stunning visuals and poetic text combine to tell the inspiring story of Lewis Hine (1874–1940), a teacher and photographer who employed his art as a tool for social reform. Working for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Hine traveled the country, taking pictures of children as young as five toiling under dangerous conditions in cotton mills, seafood canneries, farms, and coal mines. He often wore disguises to sneak into factories, impersonating a machinery inspector or traveling salesman. He said, “If I could tell this story in words, I wouldn't need to lug a camera.” His poignant pictures attracted national attention and were instrumental in the passage of child labor laws.
The Traveling Camera includes extensive back matter with timelines, original photographs, and a bibliography.
From School Library Journal
Gr 3-8-In this biography of Lewis Hine, readers see that he documented the human spirit in the form of photographs, or Hineographs, as he called them. He is known for photographing children who labored to help their families make ends meet during the early 1900s when child labor laws were not enforced. Born in Oshkosh, WI, Hine knew firsthand what it was like to have to help the family financially after his father died at a young age. Hine worked in horrible conditions, trying to keep food on the table for his two sisters and mother. The picture book begins with Hines as an adult traveling across the United States using his box camera to document children who are working in mills and fields. Beautiful illustrations, which appear to be a mix of digital and traditional media, bring the story to life. Hine visits factories, farms, and mines where children are laboring day and night in terrible conditions: "At the cotton mill I tell the overseer The Company sent me to take pictures of broken machinery. He believes me, lets me inside." Whatever it took to get inside the mill or factory to take his pictures, Hine would do it. His aim was to share his photos with the world, to make them, "sick and tired of the whole business, to make child labor pictures records of the past." Back matter includes a time line and photographs from Hine's life and of his work. VERDICT An excellent purchase for all libraries.-Tracy Cronce, Stevens Point Public School District, Stevens Point, WIα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review
A beautiful and heartwarming book—I give it my highest recommendation.―
Kate Sampsell-Willman, author of Lewis Hine as Social Critic
Lyrical writing combines with charming illustrations to deepen the reader’s engagement with Hine and the children he cared about.
The Traveling Camera offers a way of looking at history as a confluence of art, activism, and social change.―
Uma Krishnaswami, author of Book Uncle and Me and Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh
This book is stunning, both in words and pictures, truly a snapshot of history.―
Jane Yolen, author of Owl Moon, Devil’s Arithmetic, and I Am the Storm
“A searching picture of a pioneering social crusader.”—
Kirkus Reviews―
Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Alexandra S. D. Hinrichs is the author of
Thérèse Makes a Tapestry (Getty, 2018) and
I Am Made of Mountains (Charlesbridge, 2022). She holds MAs in US history and in library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She works as a middle school librarian in Maine.
Michael Garland is a bestselling author and illustrator of many books including
Ferry Boat (Holiday House, 2021),
Pizza Mouse (Penguin Random House, 2017), and
Birds Make Nests (Holiday House, 2018).