In the 1960s, young Chinese American Corky Lee flips through an encyclopedia and learns about the Transcontinental Railroad and the Chinese migrant workers who helped build it. But in the group photo celebrating the completion of the work, there’s not a single Chinese face to be found. This starts his journey as a photographer, determined to capture the missing voices and faces during protests and festivals, strikes and parades.
Armed with a camera, Corky Lee documents the moments, big and small, that help Asian America be seen. This picture book biography features some of his most well-known photographs, including a reenactment of the completion of the transcontinental railroad featuring descendants of Chinese railroad workers, and his quieter portraits of everyday Americans.
Author
Julie Leung
Julie Leung is an award-winning author of numerous children’s books. Her picture book, The Truth About Dragons, was a 2024 Caldecott Honor Book and winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. She is also the author of Paper Son, Mr. Pei’s Perfect Shapes, and The Fearless Flights of Hazel Ying Lee, all of which received multiple starred reviews. By day, she works in book publishing.Julia Kuo is the author and illustrator of Let’s Do Everything and Nothing and Luminous: Living Things that Light Up the Night. She is the illustrator of several picture books including I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne, I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story by Martha Brockenbrough and Grace Lin, and New York Times bestselling Rise by Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, and Philip Wang. Julia has created editorial illustrations for publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. She currently lives in Bellevue, WA.
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