Reese's Review of Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave

Coretta Scott King Award Winner

Caldecott Honor Book

                Beauty of artistry, beauty of words, and beauty of theme all are traits which place this book in my favorites list.  From the moment I laid eyes on the cover and the intense look of concentration on the face of Dave the Potter as he worked the clay pot, I fell for this book.  Detail after artistic detail - pages which have a worn scrapbook-like edging, dark earth-toned paintings, images which glimpse the slave life – draws the reader into the poetic story and adds depth to the already moving story. I was surprised by the foldout in the idle of the book and almost missed it as it blended in so well.  I am glad I didn’t, or I would have missed the beauty of the change from lump of clay to full fledge pot.  The subtle symbolism of the story comes through in both words and illustrations.  The addition of the background history of Dave the Potter with the inclusion of some of his verses along with the story of how the book was conceived appealed to me.  I have always enjoyed art and particularly pottery.  The book reawakened an itch to spend time throwing a pot on a wheel soon.

Hill, L. C. (2010). Dave the potter: artist, poet, slave. New York: Little, Brown, and Company.

Reese's Review of Rumpelstiltskin

Caldecott Honor Book

As a young child, I remember my mother reading fairy tales to us including Rumpelstilskin.  Though it had illustrations, the oil paintings of Paul Zelinsky are far more beautiful and detailed.  Even the end pages set the scene for the story by giving the reader an overview of the towns and countryside as if one looked out from an overlook. The title page introduces the reader to Rumpelstiltskin lounging on a shelf and hinting at is diminutive stature. The expressions of each of the characters in the illustrations especially reflect the character’s emotions adding clarity for the reader.  I also enjoyed the increasing details of the miller daughter’s clothing as she took the role of queen. Though the characters remained rather flat, as most fairy tale characters do, the illustrations still made it well worth my time.  One particular feature of great interest to me was the inclusion of a note on the text that traced the fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin from its German roots through its many published versions.  For that reason in particular, this book will be used in my classroom as we discuss the historical background and transformation of stories.

Zelinsky, P.O. (1986). Rumpelstiltskin. New York: Dutton’s Children’s Books.

Reese’s Review of Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888

Caldecott Honor Book

First, I love baseball.  Second, I am fascinated with books that can pique my curiosity beyond the text.  Casey at the Bat is just such a book. Though I long have been familiar with Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s Casey at the Bat ode, Christopher Bing’s use of pen and ink drawings along with the scrapbook type style of the book kept me thoroughly enthralled.  I spent as much time marveling at the hidden gems within each scrapbook style page as I did on the poem.  Bing doesn’t simply incorporate materials representative of the time period, he furthers the context of the poem through his careful layering of related texts and illustrations on each page.  Each and every time I open the book, I find something  missed previously. In my own middle school classroom, students are intrigued with the illustrator’s reasons for choosing to illustrate in this way; it allows us the opportunity to discuss the importance of presentation to effectively getting a message across to an audience as well as the vast choices available.

Thayer, E.L. & Bing, C. (2000). Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s Casey at the bat: a ballad of the republic sung in the year 1888. New York: Scholastic.

Reese's Review of Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest

Caldecott Honor Book

Exposition: The people don’t have light, so Raven goes off in search of light.  He realized it is held in the home of the Sky Chief.

Conflict: In order find the light in the Sky Chief’s home, Raven turns himself into a pine needle which floats into the daughter’s water where she drinks it. After being born as the daughter’s child, he must find the light.

Rising Action:  A baby, Raven crawls around and then cries until the Sky Chief say to give his grandchild the ball of light.

Climax: Rave returns to his raven form and lies off with the ball of light in his beak as the Sky Chief, his daughter, and the elders look on.

Falling Action:  Raven throws the Sun into the sky, and the people have light.

Resolution: The people feed Raven as thanks for bringing them light.

Quality of Illustrations: McDermott uses beautiful painterly media (gouache, colored pencil, and pastel).  The mood of the people is reflected in the beginning part of the story by the use dark muted colors that show the darkness in which the people live. McDermott also uses different media to further illustrate the differences between the Raven and the Sky Chief.

McDermott, G. (1993). Raven: A trickster tale from the Pacific Northwest. New York: Scholastic.