Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, a Life in Nature

Using vibrant, exclamatory language, Jenson-Elliott (Dig In!) paints a picture of a young Ansel Adams as a boy “on fire for learning,” captivated by nature from an early age and always on the move. It was “love at first sight” when Adams saw Yosemite Valley for the first time (“the ripple-rush-ROAR! of water and light! Light! Light!”), and the gift of a camera helped steer the direction of the life that would follow (“Ansel’s photos became a journal of everything he saw”). While Adams (1902–1984) mostly photographed nature in black and white, Hale (The Cambodian Dancer) goes straight for purple mountain majesties in her subtly textured collages, which include several vertically oriented spreads that allow her to fully reflect the height of sequoia trees or Yosemite’s High Sierra. An extensive afterword about Adams rounds out an inspiring account of one man’s lifelong love affair with the great outdoors. Ages 5–9. [em]Author’s agent: Stefanie Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (Sept.) [/em]