When he was still a boy, Jacob Lawrence moved with his family from the South to Harlem, like countless African Americans looking for a better life early in the 20th century. He had begun to draw and paint at an early age, and folks always told him he had talent. In Harlem he found a community of like-minded artists who encouraged the talented teenager, in particular, sculptor Augusta Savage, who served as his mentor. Outside Harlem, however, he faced the sorts of obstacles familiar to many African-American men in his era who were trying to gain acceptance in a segregated nation. Through it all, he committed himself and his art to the subjects he knew and loved: his people's past and present. There is a reproduction of a Jacob Lawrence painting on every double-page spread of this attractively designed, accessible biography of the African-American painter. (Ages 9-14)

The paintings of Jacob Lawrence tell stories. Stories of enslavement and freedom, of human migration and renaissance, of struggle and of triumph. A collection of these stunning paintings provides the backdrop for this exceptional biography which tells the story of one of our finest living painters-from his family's experience in the great migration North, to his growing up in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance, to his rise as one of the most renowned painters of African American life. With over twenty-five full-color reproductions and an insightful glossary, not only is this an easy-to-read, engaging biography, it's also an excellent starting point for discussions about American history.