A lyrically told, exquisitely illustrated biography of influential Jewish artist and activist Ben Shahn The first thing I can remember, Ben said, I drew. As an observant child growing up in Lithuania, Ben Shahn yearns to draw everything he seesand, after seeing his father banished by the Czar for demanding workers rights, he develops a keen sense of justice, too. So when Ben and the rest of his family make their way to America, Ben brings both his sharp artistic eye and his desire to fight for whats right. As he grows, he speaks for justice through his artby disarming classmates who bully him because hes Jewish, by defying his teachers insistence that he paint beautiful landscapes rather than true stories, by urging the US government to pass Depression-era laws to help people find food and jobs. In this moving and timely portrait, award-winning author Cynthia Levinson and illustrator Evan Turk honor an artist, immigrant, and activist whose work still resonates today: a true painter for the people.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book has been graded for interest at 4-8 years.

There are 48 pages in this book.

This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+).

This book was published in 2021 by Abrams .

Cynthia Levinson is the award-winning author of We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March, which received four starred reviews and was one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2012, and Watch Out for Flying Kids!: How Two Circuses, Two Countries, and Nine Kids Confront Conflict and Build Community. Cynthia worked in education policy and divides her time between Texas and Massachusetts. Evan Turk is an author, illustrator, and animator working in New York City. He is originally from Colorado, and loves being in nature, traveling, and learning about other cultures through drawing. He is a graduate of Parsons and continues his studies as a member of Dalvero Academy. Grandfather Gandhi is his first picture book.