HONY Photographer Releases Kids' Book

By Katelin Walling April 7, 2015

Brandon Stanton, the creator and photographer behind the popular blog Humans of New York, recently released "Little Humans," a children's photo storybook. Photographs by Brandon Stanton

When Brandon Stanton lost his job trading bonds in Chicago, he decided to move to New York City to walk the streets every day and take pictures of strangers. The result: the creation of the blog Humans of New York in 2010, which you’ve more than likely seen peppering your Facebook feed with regularity.

Last month, Stanton, 30, released his newest HONY book, Little Humans (MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group), a photo storybook for children ages 4-8. “The children’s portraits have always been one of the most unique and popular parts of Humans of New York, so it wasn’t a giant leap to conceive of a children’s book,” Stanton says. “The blog can have quite a lot of ‘adult’ content, so I enjoyed the opportunity to package the material in a way that is available for the earliest readers.”

Stanton, who now lives in Brooklyn, also recently returned from a United Nations trip—dubbed the ‘World Tour’—to 12 countries in 60 days. The World Tour was supported by the Secretary General’s Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group to raise awareness about the MDG, eight goals that the U.N. agrees should be accomplished by 2015, including ending extreme poverty and hunger, reducing child mortality, combating diseases, and achieving gender equality.

The main way the trip changed him, Stanton says, is it widened the spectrum of experiences and cultures he’s been exposed to. “In some parts of the world, ‘tragedy’ has a different definition than it does in America, as does ‘poverty.’ Hearing stories from all over the world can’t help but sharpen your perspective on your own life and your own surroundings,” he says. “Hopefully the audience was influenced by the stories in a similar way.”

Here, a selection of images, both from Little Humans and Humans of New York, that celebrate the diversity of the littlest inhabitants of New York.

humans of new york boy with baseball

Look Out, World: Little Humans shows the variety of things kids can do, from playing the standing bass to sledding to helping their parents with projects—or perhaps playing baseball in a bowtie.

humans of new york girl in animal sweater

Words & Pictures: Taking photographs of children—and hearing what they have to say—can be quite entertaining: “Yesterday a kid told me that her greatest fear was getting a lobotomy,” Stanton says.

humans of new york father and daughter fixing bike

Everyday People: “One of my favorite compliments, I guess, is ‘Oh man, you photograph the things that other people walk by every single day and don’t notice, but somehow you photograph them and make them beautiful.’ So much that walks by me, inspires me,” Stanton said in a Storyboard video, a project of the Tumblr Department of Editorial that highlights creators and their works found within the Tumblr community.

humans of new york martial arts kid

How High?: “Do you want to see a flying side kick?”
I absolutely do.

humans of new york street ballet girl

Kid Appeal: “The children’s portraits have always been one of the most unique and popular parts of Humans of New York,” Stanton says.

humans of new york boy in black

Breaking the Mold: If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?
“Just because you admire someone, doesn’t mean you have to try to be like them.”

Who’s someone you admired that you tried to be like?
“For a few weeks I was wearing the same brands as this skater named Kevin Bradley. And some of my friends were making fun of me for it. They were like: ‘Why are you neckin’ Kevin Bradley?’ And I thought about it, and I realized that it was stupid to try to be like someone else. Because I’m cool enough myself.”

humans of new york girl in rain gear

Tangled: “I want to be a princess hairdresser.”

What’s going to be the hardest part about being a princess hairdresser?
“Cutting Rapunzel’s hair.”

Little Humans (MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group) was released October 2011. It is available at amazon.com, bn.com, and other major book sellers. For more HONY photos, visit humansofnewyork.com.

All photographs by Brandon Stanton, Humans of New York