Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal about the Japanese American Incarceration
Chronicle Books (2022)
Design by Lydia Ortiz and Lauren Tamaki
This work of nonfiction combines illustration and photography to explore the Japanese American incarceration as captured by three photographers—Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams—along with firsthand accounts of this grave moment in history.
Three photographers set out to document life at Manzanar, an incarceration camp in the California desert: Dorothea Lange was hired by the US government to record the conditions of the camps. Deeply critical of the policy, she wanted her photos to shed light on the harsh reality of incarceration. Toyo Miyatake was a Japanese-born, Los Angeles–based photographer, imprisoned at Manzanar, he devised a way to smuggle in photographic equipment, determined to show what was really going on inside the barbed-wire confines of the camp. Ansel Adams was hired by the director of Manzanar, Ansel hoped his carefully curated pictures would demonstrate to the rest of the United States the resilience of those in the camps.
The New York Times, “Ingeniously designed, “Seen and Unseen” strikes an ideal balance between black-and-white photographs, illustrations that cleverly hark back to 1940s-era government pamphlets and stunning layouts that give eyewitness accounts their due weight.”—The New York Times
Publishers Weekly, ★ “In smartly contextualized prose, Partridge layers brief first-person accounts and facets of imprisonment. In fluid lines, Tamaki’s mixed media artwork illustrates the events. . . . Extended back matter, including an essay on the model minority myth, concludes this crucial, perspective-interested work.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Kirkus Reviews, ★ “Powerful visuals. . . accompanied by clear, straightforward text, this arresting work brings history to vivid life. A bold combination of art, media, and records create a compelling read.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Booklist, ★ “While author Partridge deftly exposes the injustices, illustrator Tamaki enhances the text with superbly resonating, gorgeously empathic illustrations.” —Booklist, starred review
The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, ★ “[An] exquisitely crafted, fiercely provocative work of nonfiction. . . . The book’s true power, however, comes in its ability to show and not tell.” —BCCB, starred review
School Library Journal, ★”In stark contrast to the heartbreaking subject matter, Tamaki’s gorgeous black, white, and red illustrations work in tandem with Lange, Miyatake, and Adams’s photographs to paint a devastatingly beautiful picture of both the injustice of the incarceration and the right to humane treatment…. Coupled with Partridge’s simple, perfect writing and back matter that deepens the text, this is a work that will haunt readers.” —School Library Journal, starred review
🏅2023 Robert F. Sibert Medal
🏅Winner: BOLOGNARAGAZZI AWARD / Photography / 2023 Special Category
Kirkus Best Books 2022
Kirkus Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
🏅2023 California Book Awards / JUVENILE Gold Medal
School Library Journal Best Books 2022
NY Public Library Best Books 2022
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2022
2023 Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year List
Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2022
A Junior Library Guild selection
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book