An imaginative, innovative picture book that will awaken a love of Chicago in kids of all ages, Chicago Treasure, by Larry Broutman, Rich Green and John Rabias, defies categorization. Like a cabinet of curiosities, its pages delight the reader with their many wonders.
Chicago Treasure also is a kind of community project, organized around the concept of seamlessly embedding photographs of Chicago children into images that fall into one of three categories. While diverse Chicago youth from all walks of life populate Chicago Treasure, many are students at the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Disabled’s preschool.
In the first section, “Just Imagine,” starry-eyed youngsters become the heroes of their favorite fairytales, folk tales, and nursery rhymes brought to life through Rich Green’s lush illustrations.
In the second section, “Now Showing,” photographs of contemporary kids are digitally placed in paintings by Norman Rockwell, Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Paul Gustave Fischer, Jean Beraud, Gustave Caillebotte, and others.
In the final section, “Sightings,” Chicago youth, often accompanied by exotic animal sidekicks, explore their city’s cultural landmarks in bold ways
that may not be possible in the boring confines of reality.
The children photographed for Chicago Treasure are as diverse as Chicago itself, with the theme of inclusion prevalent throughout. Every child, regardless of ability, ethnicity, gender, or age is free to see themselves take on great roles in literature and art or let their imagination run wild by exploring iconic Chicago scenes.
At a hefty 168 pages long, this lovely book will enchant young and old alike for years to come. You can purchase Chicago Treasure on Amazon, BN.com and everythinggoesmedia.com. All author proceeds are donated to the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Disabled, and Access Living, Chicago-based nonprofit service agencies.
(Disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher, Everything Goes Media, LLC.)
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