I Wanna Take Me a Picture: Teaching Photography and Writing to Children

Wendy Ewald has worked with children around the world, using photography to enable them to express what they think and feel, even on difficult subjects like their dreams and racial stereotypes. Written for parents and teachers, the book is filled with anecdotes about Ewald’s work (and striking photographs of children’s work) that makes it an accessible and practical guide to getting children involved in photography. I Wanna Take Me a Picture uses basic assignments to teach everything from framing and point of view to how to set up a darkroom and develop film.

“Wendy Ewald has had a photographic career like no one else, teaching photography to children as a means of building literacy and self-esteem. Ewald’s project is wonderful because it lets kids speak for themselves; instead of being passive subjects for the lens, they eagerly harness it to the engines of their imaginations.”
—Andy Grundberg, The New York Times

“Young people know joy, sorrow, and loss. By looking at their photographs and talking about making them, they begin to realize their lives have importance. This book is needed!”
—Deborah Willis, author of Reflections in Black

“What’s striking about Ewald’s work is not just the effect she has on her students but the results they achieve together.”
—Francine Prose, O, The Oprah Magazine

“This is an innovative and highly recommended way to engage young people, teach them to ‘read’ photographs and introduce concepts of visual literacy.”
—Center for Media Literacy