Ok, this is an older one (2010) but still so amazing.
And yes, Singe Singe and I met the illustrator.
Unfortunately, we didn’t catch him at the autograph party.
I had to stop him in the hotel lobby and ask him to sign the book.
Needless to say, NO TIME to snap a picture with Singe Singe.
But the book is awesome.
So let’s get to it!
Title: Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
Published by: Little, Brown, and Company, 2010
Written by: Laban Carrick Hill
Illustrated by: Bryan Collier
In one word: transforming
In one sentence: Learn about Dave the Potter’s incredible story through a simple and compelling narrative and illustrations that make you feel like you are there with him.
Favorite pages:
Look at the awesome fabric detail!
Likes:
- the story is poetic in the telling and easy to resonate with.
- more of Dave’s poetry is included at the end
- there’s a spread that is so big that the page opens out (another fold) from the book to show the whole sequence of shaping the pot
- the illustrations are watercolor and collage, but the collage is done really well and sometimes you have to look closely to realize that it is pieced together. It’s hard to explain, but it looks rough and finished at the same time, kind of like the pottery!
- the author and illustrator notes are great…it’s nice to hear about where they heard about Dave and what they did for research.
- I really like the collage on the pages with the words. It’s essentially the same color paper, but a little darker and lighter, pieced together. It’s simple but kind of stunning too.
Learns:
- Again, there are so many topics for non-fiction books out there.
- And ways to use the information to make a great story.
- Author and illustrator notes really let the reader connect more with the creators of the book.
3 more days!
Hard to believe I read all these books…it seems so long ago (said in a very nostalgic voice…)
Hope everyone is surviving Halloween weekend!
Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to have a children’s-book only-costumes Halloween party?
Who would you go as?
I’m picking the dog in Go Dog, Go, at the very end, when she’s wearing the awesome hat 🙂
Or I suppose I could be the Man in the Yellow Hat and Singe Singe could be Curious George.
Enthusiastically yours,
KE and Singe Singe
Totally wonderful picture book, Kathy! I also love non-fiction type books like this for kids…an opportunity for a wealth of diverse knowledge. 🙂
What picture book character would I be? Maybe Madeline, because I’d love to have the chance to go to Paris…who knows where this picture book writing journey will take me? I’ve always enjoyed Madeline’s plucky adventurous nature…something I did not have as a child…I’m trying to rectify that now. 🙂
Today i read “Pete the Cat…Rocking in My School Shoes” written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean.
I smiled all the way through the book…the illustrations are so much fun…Pete in those BIG red sneakers…and the story line is upbeat, with Pete’s song being sung at every different place he goes in school. It was interesting to see that the book has some rhyme…and some not. The author was definitely thinking (and writing) outside the box!
I’m ready, willing and hopefully able for PiBoIdMo to begin…it will be fun to do this together with so many people I feel that I ‘know’ that I hadn’t even heard of a year ago. 🙂
Kathy, are you participating in Susanna Leonard Hill’s Halloweensie Contest? It posts on Wednesday, October 31!
Madeline would be fun!
I have “Rockin’ in my school shoes..”
It’s really fun to read and sing with children.
I think I will do SLH”s halloweensie contest…just have to think of something really awesome, and soon!
Oh yay! The more the merrier. 🙂
I think it would be cool to dress up as Library Mouse from Daniel Kirk’s books for Halloween. Morris Lessmore would be cool too from William Joyce’s book.
Tonight we read Kel Gilligan’s Daredevil Stunt Show by Michael Buckley. This was a very neat book and “voice” of the book was perfect. My 5 year old son related very well to it. The main character is a young boy that pretends to be a famous daredevil and completes feats like eating broccoli, going potty, getting himself dressed by himself, etc. Very well done!
Morris Lessmore would be an awesome costume!
This book sounds really awesome…I love how the feats are things that REALLY ARE feats for a five year old….thanks for putting it on my radar!
Dave the Potter sounds like an incredible book, Kathy Ellen! I love that illustration of his hands shaping the pot on the wheel.
If I dressed as a picture book character for Halloween, I’d either want to be Geraldine, from The Very Fairy Princess series, so I could spend the day letting my inner SPARKLE out, and encouraging others to do the same, or I’d want to be the rabbit from Not a Box, so I could think up cool things to do with a box.
Today I decided I couldn’t let another day go by without reading a book by one of my favorite Canadian picture book creators of all time, Barbara Reid. I say “creator” because writing and illustrating don’t go far enough to describe what Barbara does. The book I read today is “Picture a Tree” — and it’s awesome. She does her illustrations with plasticine, and they are incredibly detailed. Like every leaf in plasticine! One of my favorite spreads is “A tree can be a high-rise home sweet home” — the illustration shows a huge tree outside a high-rise apartment building. Not only can one find several different birds nesting in the tree, including robins bringing worms to their babies, and a woodpecker with a nest in a hole in the trunk, but there is also a wasp nest, a raccoon, a couple of squirrels — and behind all that, there is something going on in every room visible in the apartment building, and it’s ALL done with plasticine. Amazing.
Here’s her website if you want to get an idea of what her illustrating method is like: http://www.barbarareid.ca/
Thanks, Beth!
I think both of your ideas for costumes are great too.
I like the idea of letting your inner sparkle out.
I’ll have to check out this website and these books.
If you are so excited about it, I’m sure I’ll like them!
I’ve read Dave the Potter and enjoyed the beautiful illustrations and poetry as well.
I just read a hilarious pb called “Doug-Dennis and the Flyaway Fib” by Darren Farrell, in which a sheep and an elephant go to the circus. Sheep tells a small lie that gets bigger and bigger and carries him away. And the ending has a comical twist as well.
If I were to dress up, I might be Pinkalicious, because my favorite color is pink. However, I love so many pb’s it’s really hard to choose!
Pinkalicious would be a great costume!
Ooh, I just thought of another one….Ladybug girl…or SkippyJon!
Your book sounds really fun…a small lie that gets bigger and bigger…that’s something children will encounter as they grow!
Posting a day late, but I did read this book on the day I was supposed to! Its just been crazy around here preparing for Frankenstorm and the NYC Marathon! I don’t know which one is scarier. 🙂
I read MONSTERS’ MONSTER by Patrick McDonnell. I know people have reviewed this before, but I just adore the illustrations and the sweet “dank you” from the monster. Basically, I was a kidlit dork and told my boyfriend that everytime someone mentions Frankenstorm I keep picturing the monster in MONSTERS’ MONSTER! Let’s hope the Frankenstorm is as polite. 🙂
As for who I would dress up like for Halloween, I am going to say Winnie the Pooh in THE BLUSTERY DAY. Seems appropriate as we await this storm.
Be safe everyone!
No judging, Marcie!
I hope you are safe from Sandy!
And yes, the marathon!
That is so exciting…I’m planning on doing a half marathon on my birthday weekend, once these toes get better…
I have heard about Monsters’ Monster.
Sounds awesome!
And nothing wrong with being a kidlit dork 🙂