Photographic - by Isabel Quintero (Hardcover)

About the Book

Award-winning YA author Quintero and artist Pe-a deliver a symbolic, poetic, and deeply personal profile in the first graphic biography of iconic Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide.

Book Synopsis

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Award Winner and a Moonbeam Children's Book Gold Award Winner, Photographic is a picture book biography of Graciela Iturbide from author Isabel Quintero and illustrator Zeke Peña.

Graciela Iturbide was born in Mexico City in 1942, the oldest of 13 children. When tragedy struck Iturbide as a young mother, she turned to photography for solace and understanding. From then on Iturbide embarked on a photographic journey that has taken her throughout her native Mexico, from the Sonoran Desert to Juchitán to Frida Kahlo's bathroom, to the United States, India, and beyond.

Photographic is a symbolic, poetic, and deeply personal graphic biography of this iconic photographer. Iturbide's journey will excite readers of all ages as well as budding photographers, who will be inspired by her resolve, talent, and curiosity.

"This extraordinary biography captures the poetry of Graciela Iturbide's photography. The brilliant pairing of Isabel Quintero's words and Zeke Peña's art creates a graphic biography that evokes the process and meaning of what it is to create. Highly recommended!" --Cathy Camper, author of Lowriders in Space

"Striking black and white illustrations . . . A powerful homage to the five-decade evolution of an artist still working--and still evolving--today." --Horn Book

Review Quotes

"Photographic is one of the most creative and original nonfiction books I've read this year. . . .Quintero and Peña expertly convey the meanings behind Iturbide's photographs."-- "nonfictiondetectives.com"

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Quintero and Peña's biography of Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide is far more than an account of her life . . . Eye-opening and masterfully rendered."-- "Booklist"

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Striking black and white illustrations. . . . A powerful homage to the five-decade evolution of an artist still working--and still evolving--today."-- "The Horn Book"

**STARRED REVIEW** "Mixing original illustrations, first-person prose, and lyrical interludes with gorgeous reproductions of photographer Graciela Iturbide's work, Quintero and Peña patiently reveal their subject's many angles, producing a "kaleidoscopic unraveling" of the artists... VERDICT Quintero and Peña have set a new standard in artist biographies. A must for teen collections."-- "School Library Journal"

"[A] superlative graphic account of the life of a Mexican legend."-- "Digital Camera World"

"[Graciela] Iturbide's artistic vision and story are conveyed with poetry, a simple sophistication, and a dollop of bold swagger"--Mary McCoy, Senior Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library and Author of Camp So-and-So

"A fascinating book that blends the story of Iturbide's life with poetic interpretations of pivotal moments in her career."-- "San Diego City Beat"

"A personal history that's as remarkable as any of the photographer's portraits."-- "NBC"

"I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone... There's darkness and death; but it's not a morbid story. It's about learning to find who you are and be brave and true to yourself, and finding beauty in forgotten places and people."-- "Bleeding Cool"

"It is a rare feat when a writer and illustrator are able to capture the creative magnitude of an iconic photographer. With poetic prose by Isabel Quintero and luminary illustrations by Zeke Peña, the stunning biography Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide will guide readers through a compelling visionary journey. Photographic is a worthy homage to an important and influential photographer and will stand alone as a truly creative piece of work." --Lilliam Rivera, author of The Education of Margot Sanchez

"Quintero and Peña strike a good compromise, featuring many of Iturbide's photographs as a complement to the biography, but without being dependent on them. The result is a book that expertly combines various aspects to become something utterly unique."-- "Foreword Reviews"

"Recommended to anyone interested in fine art photography, particularly of Mexican and Southwestern American subjects, and for library collections with a focus on this area."-- "Library Journal"

"Should win an Eisner for best work based on reality."-- "The MNT"

"The graphic novel honors a provocative life by taking a provocative form."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"This extraordinary biography captures the poetry of Graciela Iturbide's photography. The brilliant pairing of Isabel Quintero's words and Zeke Peña's art creates a graphic biography that evokes the process and meaning of what it is to create. Highly recom­mended!"--Cathy Camper, author of Lowriders in Space and Lowriders to the Center of the Earth

About the Author

Isabel Quintero's first novel, Gabi, A Girl in Pieces, was one of School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2014 and won the American Library Association's William C. Morris YA Debut Award. Her second book, Ugly Cat & Pablo, was published in April 2017. She lives in Southern California. Zeke Peña is an artist and illustrator whose work about the US/Mexico border community explores universal themes by remixing contemporary and historical narratives. He has exhibited at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, Albuquerque's National Hispanic Cultural Center, Houston Center for Photography, El Paso Museum of Art, and Museo de Arte Ciudad Juárez, as well as in galleries across the United States and Mexico.