Picture Book (poetry) #26 - Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave

Author: Laban Carrick Hill

Illustrator: Bryan Collier

Genre: non-fiction

Sub genre: Historical
Theme: Pottery, slavery, art, poetry

Primary and secondary characters: Dave

Awards: Coretta Scott King

Publication Date: 2010

Publishing Company: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

     Dave is a slave in the 1800s who has an extraordinary talent, he can make pottery and write poetry. This is something that slaves were not allowed to do, so it was an extreme risk for him. This book is written in a poetic way that beautifully describes the real life of the slave. Although a lot of information is not known about this man, what little is know is a great story. The illustrations in this book are truly captivating and tell the story as much as the writing. 

In the classroom, this book could strike a lot of great conversation. The teacher could use this as a base for learning about slavery in the 1800s. She could have the students find other slaves with talent that they could not share without risk. For younger students, this book could be used in the art classroom. The students could make pottery themselves and write a poem about the process.