# 38- Uptown

Uptown (2007)

Bryan Collier

Collier uses collage in this book about Harlem, which he published and illustrated. Using collage, he portrays scenes in the neighborhood with highly textured images. The newspaper that a man holds out is made with a cutout of actual newsprint, and small photo cutouts are framed and hung on a wall in the main character’s home. The Apollo theatre, Savoy ballroom, barbershop and brownstones that look like chocolate bars to the boy narrator show up on some of the pages.

The narrative depicts the sense of pride and belonging that the main character feels, and images in the illustrations elaborate on the simple phrases. References to jazz in the narrative are echoed by the piano and sheet music in the illustrations.