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Product Description
Quill & Quire
In 1877, George Eastman, a New York banker, took up photography as a hobby, but was frustrated by the expensive, cumbersome, and time-consuming process. After his first photo shoot took so long that his subjects lost interest and wandered away, Eastman decided to make some technological improvements. Working initially out of his mother’s kitchen before establishing his own business – a little thing called Kodak – Eastman invented dry photographic plates, then film, and finally the mass-produced and inexpensive Brownie camera. Once he made his fortune, he was happy to share, becoming a keen philanthropist and entrepreneur. The first book in Tundra’s Great Ideas series, It’s a Snap! teams up two veterans of children’s lit, prolific biographer Monica Kulling and illustrator Bill Slavin. Slavin’s artwork sparkles with its usual animism, creating realistic but witty images, and Kulling’s prose is crisp and accessible. Kulling frames this biography using traditional storybook elements. In her hands, Eastman is an engagingly kooky visionary with a long-suffering mother. A third of the short book focuses on a fanciful narrative of Eastman’s first photograph, an event that – folk-tale fashion – draws in half the townsfolk. It’s a lively and imaginative retelling, but the story itself is too slight to carry such an extended rendition. Furthermore, the time spent on it leaves little room for more substantial material – including Eastman’s career and inventions – that the volume skims over. (Similarly, a final brief section on taking good photos needs more development.) As a biographical snapshot, It’s a Snap! needs a more balanced composition.
Review
“[This] book will entertain and inform readers . . .This is terrific storytelling.”
— School Library Journal
“. . . a great way to introduce children to the wonders of photography.”
— Shutterbug Magazine
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Children are going to be fascinated with the history of cameras,
By
This review is from: It's a Snap!: George Eastman's First Photo (Hardcover)
Reason for Reading: I love the author's children's biographies, and this was the last book I still had to read in this series, wanting to catch up before a new one came out.This is a fun picture book told in a storyteller voice. There are no dates or dry facts; instead we have here an entertaining story of a man who was frustrated with how difficult (and expensive!) it was to take just one picture. If he was going to do this as a hobby he really needed to figure out a better way to take pictures, and thus, he starts years of inventing an improvement upon the camera until he eventually comes up with the Kodak instant camera. The tale is told with humour and George's mother is a great "sidekick". It is she who first encourages him to take up a hobby, then to do something about it when he is frustrated with the cameras available to him, but later on as his inventing takes over her kitchen and a large part of George's conversation she humorously gets "fed-up" with it all. Of course, I knew who Eastman was and what he accomplished (and little bit of useless info, I used to work for them.) but this brief children's bio introduced me to the man and what inspired him, information I previously did not know. Children are going to be fascinated with the history of cameras presented here. Slavin's illustrations are as usual wonderful. They are detailed, capture the era, and his character's facial features are comic and lively. Probably my favourite of the series so far.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Will educate and delight picturebook nonfiction readers in grades 2-3,
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: It's a Snap!: George Eastman's First Photo (Hardcover)
IT'S A SNAP! GEORGE EASTMAN'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPH receives illustrations by Bill Slavin as it tells of George's life and new hobby of photography back in 1877, when photography was more difficult and bulky. George changed the nature of photography and invented film the Brownie camera and the foundations of modern photography: this fine easy survey will educate and delight picturebook nonfiction readers in grades 2-3.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love the clever pictures and readable text,
By Debnance at Readerbuzz - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: It's a Snap!: George Eastman's First Photo (Hardcover)
George Eastman had to leave school early and get a job to help support his family. He decided he needed a hobby and he chose photography. Cameras were enormously heavy and pictures took a long time to develop and George decided to improve this. He did and history was made.With pictures as clever as those in a child's story book and with text as readable as a child's story book, this book will appeal to children of all ages.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Children are going to be fascinated with the history of cameras presented here,
By Nicola Manning - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: It's a Snap!: George Eastman's First Photo (Hardcover)
Reason for Reading: I love the author's children's biographies, and this was the last book I still had to read in this series, wanting to catch up before a new one came out.This is a fun picture book told in a storyteller voice. There are no dates or dry facts; instead we have here an entertaining story of a man who was frustrated with how difficult (and expensive!) it was to take just one picture. If he was going to do this as a hobby he really needed to figure out a better way to take pictures, and thus, he starts years of inventing an improvement upon the camera until he eventually comes up with the Kodak instant camera. The tale is told with humour and George's mother is a great "sidekick". It is she who first encourages him to take up a hobby, then to do something about it when he is frustrated with the cameras available to him, but later on as his inventing takes over her kitchen and a large part of George's conversation she humorously gets "fed-up" with it all. Of course, I knew who Eastman was and what he accomplished (and little bit of useless info, I used to work for them.) but this brief children's bio introduced me to the man and what inspired him, information I previously did not know. Children are going to be fascinated with the history of cameras presented here. Slavin's illustrations are as usual wonderful. They are detailed, capture the era, and his character's facial features are comic and lively. Probably my favourite of the series so far. |
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