Review #3: DAVE THE POTTER: ARTIST, POET, SLAVE

Bibliography

Hill, Laban Carrick.  2010.  DAVE THE POTTER:  ARTIST, POET, SLAVE.  Ill. By Bryan Collier.  New York, NY:  Little, Brown.  ISBN 9780316107310

Plot Summary

Hill tells the story of a man known to history only as Dave.  A plantation slave born in the early 1800s, he was a skilled potter whose high-quality works are highly valued today.  He was also literate and wrote brief poems upon some of his works.  The main body of the story describes in some detail the process of creating a large pottery jar, from choosing the clay to glazing.  At the end are several pages of notes describing what little is known about Dave’s life.

Analysis

Hill describes the process of creating a clay pot in simple text.  Along the way he also says something about the purpose of the pots and the significance of work as an act of creativity.  The story provides an appreciation for the way that simple materials and tools can be used by a person in a very disadvantaged position in life to create something of lasting significance.    The notes at the end give important context for the story and several examples of Dave’s poetry.

Collier’s illustrations employ an interesting combination of watercolor and collage.  Some of the backgrounds to the pictures depicting Dave at work are of his ordinary surroundings.  Others show him working against a more symbolic backdrop of images showing the world of a 19^th-century plantation and the slaves who worked and lived on it.  A gatefold page spread in the middle of the book opens to show a polyptych image of Dave’s hands shaping a pot on the potter’s wheel.  The text that accompanies this illustration likens Dave’s shaping of the pot to “a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

This is very much a “read-to” book, which introduces young readers to the great complexities of American and African-American history, and to the ideas of creativity and art.

Review Excerpt

“An inspiring story, perfectly presented and sure to prompt classroom discussion and projects.  Outstanding in every way.”  SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Connections

*Good starter for discussions about history, especially African American history.

*Good lead-in to the topic of crafts and making things.