Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, A Young Artist in Harlem: A Picture Book

Award-winning creators

Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts and Christopher Myers’s picture book

Jake Makes a World

follows the creative adventures of the young Jacob Lawrence as he finds inspiration in the vibrant colors and characters of his community in Harlem.

From his mother’s apartment, where he is surrounded by brightly colored walls with intricate patterns; to the streets full of familiar and not-so-familiar faces, sounds, rhythms, and smells; to the art studio where he goes each day after school to transform his everyday world on an epic scale, Jake takes readers on an enchanting journey through the bustling sights and sounds of his neighborhood.

Includes a reproduction of an actual Migration series panel

“Rhodes-Pitts has written a clear, simple tale, told in present tense and filled with colorful imagery. Myers’s art has a looser, sketchier quality than Lawrence’s more graceful figures, but both artists demonstrate a passion for vibrant, eye-popping colors that powerfully capture the African American experience.” —School Library Journal (Starred Review)