In earlier posts this year I
reviewed the most recent Charlotte Zolotow award winning books. In that same
vein I’ve been reading (or re-reading) the Caldecott winners. Although I’m not
an artist, I believe that many of the Caldecott winners were inspired by the
words in their stories (if there were words!).
The book I review today is one of those amazing word/illustration combinations, a 2010 Caldecott Honor book and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award. This is a gem. It illuminates a personal journey and transports the reader in time. Read it, man, read it (Did you hear the Scottish accent of the Scotts brand lawn product spokesperson when you read the last sentence? If not, go back and try again.)
The book I review today is one of those amazing word/illustration combinations, a 2010 Caldecott Honor book and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award. This is a gem. It illuminates a personal journey and transports the reader in time. Read it, man, read it (Did you hear the Scottish accent of the Scotts brand lawn product spokesperson when you read the last sentence? If not, go back and try again.)
Title: Dave the Potter
Author: Laban Carrick Hill
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Publisher: Little, Brown and
Company, 2010
Audience: ages 3 and up
Themes: Biography,
Individuality, Art, Black History
Opening: Let me preface the
words by saying how much I LOVE them—
“To us
It is just dirt,
The ground we walk on.
Scoop up a handful.
The gritty grains slip
Between your fingers.”
Synopsis: The author’s
lyrical prose tells the story of a slave whose talent allowed him to make some
of the biggest clay pots in colonial America. Other potters didn’t have
the strength to lift the clay or the talent to keep it from collapsing. Amazingly,
although slaves weren’t supposed to learn to read or write, Dave inscribed his
pots with lines of poetry and anecdotes of the age, preserving a piece of
history for generations. Get out your thesaurus and find the word 'stunning' --the text and illustrations are all of these.
Resources: I am not the only person who loves this book. There is a Youtube reading from ReadMeAStory1, but I didn't embed the link because it didn't move me as much as reading the book on my own. Other videos talk about the book in the context of an actual potter's work. If you can put up with the bad audio, you might like this. If you search "Dave the Potter activities" online, you will get pages of suggestions. My favorite is from the Milwaukee Art Museum's participation in The Dave Project. Pages of suggestions there alone. If you had fifteen words that would last forever, what would you want to say? Get out the clay and make your own lasting tribute to Dave. The publisher's website has a teacher's guide for classroom activities.
If you had fifteen words that would last forever, what would you want to say?
This certainly puts the under 500 word picture book preference into perspective! I'm thinking on my fifteen words...
