Features
- Reading level: Ages 4-8
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 32 pages
- Published by: Lee & Low Books May 2002
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 1584300388
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-1584300380
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Book Dimensions:
11.5 x 9 x 0.3 inches
- Weighs: 14.4 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
Noted Mexican potter Juan Quezada is the subject of an inventive and engrossing biography from newcomer Andrews-Goebel (who coproduced a documentary on Quezada) and Caldecott winner Diaz. On the left side of each spread, a "House That Jack Built"-style rhyme accumulates the often humble factors that shaped an extraordinary artist ("These are the cows all white and brown/ That left manure all over the ground/ That fueled the flames so sizzling hot/ That flickered and flared and fired the pot/ The gorgeous pot that Juan built"). This lilting rhyme describes the rudiments of Quezada's process, but for more ambitious readers, the opposite page (unfortunately, in very small type) provides a straightforward elaboration ("Juan's pottery is fired the traditional way, using dried cow manure for fuels. [M]anure from cows that eat grass, rather than commercial feed, burns at the best temperature to turn his clay pots into perfectly fired works of art"). Diaz ingeniously ties the two narrative threads together with strongly horizontal compositions and radiant, stencil-like digital renderings (a highlight is the spread in which ants point the way to a vein of fine white clay). The artist shows Quezada both at work and seeking inspiration in the scrubby foothills. The glowing tones of the artwork capture the sweep and heat of the sun-bleached landscape, while the highly stylized elements echo the decorative motifs of Quezada's pottery and lend a suitably mythic patina to this visionary artist's story. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 5-Juan Quezada is one of the best-known potters in Mexico. Using only natural materials to form and paint his pots, he is responsible for creating a vibrant folk-art economy in his small town of Mata Ortiz. This unusual book is set up to allow for differing levels of reading expertise, presenting information about Quezada in such a way that it can be read as a story or as an informational book, part biography, part fine-arts discussion. One page contains a catchy cumulative rhyme modeled on "This Is the House That Jack Built," which outlines the process of making a pot. The facing page offers a clearly written prose presentation, laying out the story of the potter's life and his method of constructing pots in the classic style of the Casas Grandes Indians. Diaz's arresting illustrations, rendered in Adobe Photoshop, use yellows, oranges, and reds in a layered effect that seems to glow with an inward light. The use of stylized forms-all of the people with a full-face front eye in the manner of ancient Egyptian art-adds a sense of gravitas and historical continuity to the artwork. An afterword gives a more in-depth treatment of Quezada's life and work, and is illustrated with small inset color photographs. This is a must purchase for all collections, and could be used with Diana Cohn's Dream Carver (Chronicle, 2002) for a look at how both art and economies of scale can work to enrich our lives and to build community.
Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Reader ReviewsFor those in the know, the book suffers for want of careful editing. It is flawed, for example, by illustrator David Diaz' arrogance in placing his own designs on Quezada's pottery. Had this book been about van Gogh, Picasso or any other well-known artist, it is unlikely he would have portrayed their art with no concern for what it looked like in reality. This puts down Juan Quezada. Diaz also carelessly depicts Quezada building a pot by the continuous-coil method of the Indians of the American Southwest rather than by the distinctive method that he innovated and for which he is known. Better editing would have caught these problems with the illustrations as well as a multitude of minor inaccuracies that occur in the text, nearly one to a page. For example, in speaking of using a bean to burnish pottery, the author comments, "Of course dried beans can be found in any kitchen in the village." The bean in question is an inedible wild bean, the chilicote-not the kind that would normally be found in anyone's kitchen. Such editorial problems do not, however, detract from this production as a children's book. They are the sort that only one in the know would see.
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