Review: The Best Part of Me

The Best Part of Me: Children Talk about their Bodies in Pictures and Words compiled by Wendy Ewald.  Little Brown.  2002.

Wendy Ewald got started with the idea of teaching photography techniques to school children while she was still a photography student herself.  The photographs in The Best Part of Me are from Ewald's collaboration with the teachers and students of the public schools in Durham, North Carolina.  Ewald asked the students to choose their favorite body part.  Together, she and the student would create a composition for this body part in order to make a portrait.  The student would then write an accompanying explanation for the portrait to explain what they liked about their mouth, hands, feet, elbow, or whatever part they had chosen.  It's wonderful to read and see how these students take ownership of their bodies, and through doing this take ownership of their beings.  They root themselves by connecting their characteristics to family members, or past experiences or positive words.

What's very cool is that other classes have been inspired by this book.  Teachers can also attend a Literacy Through Photography workshop that is offered through Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies, where Ewald is a professor.