The Pot That Juan Built

by Nancy Andrews-Goebel, David Diaz (Illustrator)

Overview

Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA)

With vibrant illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner David Diaz,The Pot that Juan Builtis sure to enlighten all who are fascinated by traditional art forms, Mexican culture, and the power of the human spirit to find inspiration from the past.

Juan Quezada is the premier potter in Mexico. With local materials and the primitive methods of the Casas Grandes people - including using human hair to make brushes and cow manure to feed the flames that fire his pots - Juan creates stunning pots in the traditional style. Each is a work of art unlike any other.

This is the pot that Juan built.
These are the flames so sizzling hot
That flickered and flared and fired the pot,
The beautiful pot that Juan built.

The text is written in the form of "The House That Jack Built" and accompanied by a comprehensive afterword with photos and information about Juan's technique as well as a history of Mata Ortiz, the northern Mexican village where Juan began and continues to work. This celebratory story tells how Juan's pioneering work has transformed Mata Ortiz from an impoverished village into a prosperous community of world-renowned artists.

With vibrant illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner David Diaz, The Pot that Juan Built is sure to enlighten all who are fascinated by traditional art forms, Mexican culture, and the power of the human spirit to find inspiration from the past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600608483
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	05/01/2002
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	280,414
Product dimensions:	10.70(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	1150L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 11 Years

About the Author

Nancy Andrews-Goebel met Juan Quezada in 1995 while on vacation in Mexico. Fascinated by his work and inspired by his wonderful spirit, she and her husband co-produced a documentary entitled Mata Ortiz Pottery: An Inside Look. The Pot That Juan Built is her first book. Andrews-Goebel and her husband live in the northern California town of Cayucos.

David Diaz won the Caldecott Medal in 1995 for Smoky Night. He is the illustrator of many other popular children's books as well, including December, Roadrunner's Dance, Going Home, and Wilma Unlimited. Diaz is also an accomplished potter, and he has sold his work to collectors throughout the country. He lives in Carlsbad, California.

Editorial Reviews

* "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 economics of scale can work to enrich our lives and to build community." — School Library Journal, starred review

* "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... 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." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Ingeniously crafted ... A lovely and unusual offering." — Kirkus Reviews

"Andrews-Goebel tells the story of Mexican potter Juan Quezada ... Diaz's computer-generated illustrations perfectly complement the story, reflecting the shimmering light and heat of the desert, and many of the images mirror the patterns found on Quezada's pottery ... A fascinating look at the skills of a self-taught master." — Booklist

Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA)

Américas Award Commended Title - Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs
Best Books of the Year - School Library Journal
Best Children's Books of the Year Outstanding - Bank Street College of Education
CCBC Choices - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Charlotte Zolotow Award Commended Title - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Delaware Diamonds Awards - Diamond State Reading Association
Notable Books for a Global Society - International Literacy Association (ILA)
Notable Books in the Language Arts - National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Texas Bluebonnet Award Shortlist - Texas Library Association (TLA)

From the Publisher

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 beautiful 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. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 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, WA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Ingeniously crafted with a three-part structure, this informational picture book tells the story of Juan Quezada of Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, Mexico, who single-handedly rediscovered the processes and materials used by the long-vanished Casas Grandes Indians to create fine pottery. Fascinated by the ancient potsherds he found as a child, Quezada knew that this pottery had to have been made using only natural materials found in the area, and so began to experiment until he was able to create pottery that resembled these ancient fragments. The result, after many years, has been the transformation of his impoverished village into a thriving community of craftspeople, and the creation of astonishingly beautiful pottery that is now found in museums and art galleries around the world. Andrews-Goebel tells this story by interweaving a rhyme patterned on "The House that Jack Built" ("This is the cock that crowed at dawn / That greeted the village and woke up Juan") with a prose telling of Quezada's story ("When he was twelve years old, while bringing firewood down from the hills on his burro, Juan found his first potsherds"). A final section that includes small photographs provides additional factual and background information. Based on the author's visits with Quezada to make a documentary film, no additional sources of information are provided. Diaz's (Angel Face, 2001, etc.) characteristic illustrations, with colors somewhat muted by the earth tones of clay, reflect Quezada's intricate, swirling pottery designs in background patterns, and capture, in a stylized manner, the ambience of the little village on the high windy plains of Chihuahua and the drama of Juan's discoveries. A lovely andunusual offering. (Nonfiction/picture book. 6+)

Kirkus Reviews