Hill's terse but emotionally evocative, poetic text describes the work of an enslaved potter in the 1800s. Known only as Dave, he not only created about forty thousand pots up to forty gallons in size, but also inscribed brief poems on some of them. We can admire them in museums today. Introducing Dave's work Hill writes, "To us it is only dirt..." but to Dave it was "...the plain and basic stuff upon which he learned to form a life...." We follow Dave's carting of the clay to the potter's wheel, the mixing, wedging, and placement on the wheel. And then: "Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat," he pulls the shape of a jar across a foldout page. He finishes the jar, makes the glaze, and writes his words upon it. Collier focuses on the creation of the pots, using mostly watercolor paintings with some collage elements. In these powerful naturalistic images, Dave's creative emotions are clearly evident with a strong sense of the process and the craftsman. Additional facts about Dave's life are included, along with notes by both author and illustrator, photographs of Dave's work, and notes on sources. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Gr 4—The life of an astonishingly prolific and skilled potter who lived and died a slave in 19th-century South Carolina is related in simple, powerful sentences that outline the making of a pot. The movements of Dave's hands are described using familiar, solid verbs: pulling, pinching, squeezing, pounding. Rural imagery—a robin's puffed breast, a carnival wheel—remind readers of Dave's surroundings. The pithy lines themselves recall the short poems that Dave inscribed on his pots. Collier's earth-toned watercolor and collage art extends the story, showing the landscape, materials, and architecture of a South Carolina farm. Alert readers will find hidden messages in some of the collages, but what stands out in these pictures are Dave's hands and eyes, and the strength of his body, reflected in the shape and size of his legendary jars and pots. A lengthy author's note fleshes out what is known of the man's life story and reproduces several of his two-line poems. A photograph of some of Dave's surviving works cements the book's link to the present and lists of print and online resources encourage further exploration. An inspiring story, perfectly presented and sure to prompt classroom discussion and projects. Outstanding in every way.—Paula Willey, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, MD

The enslaved 19th-century potter Dave, who lived and worked near Edgefield, S.C., could transform 60 pounds of clay into a 40-gallon pot. Hill crafts a poetic tribute that's respectful and playful, much like the potter's own short verse, which was frequently incised onto the shoulders of his handsome stoneware jars. Collier's rich watercolor collages adopt many angles of perspective to reveal the potter's strength and artistry. From above the picture plane on a fold-out spread, he dramatically focuses on four successive stages of creation as "Dave's hands, buried / in the mounded mud, / pulled out the shape of a jar." Backmatter includes a biographical essay interspersing eight of Dave's poems with selected facts. The paragraphs don't always address Dave's often cryptic poems, which could confuse young readers, and the probable biblical basis for some of the excerpted poems is not mentioned. The questionable omission of facts about Dave's emancipation and adoption of the surname Drake relegates young readers to viewing the potter's life in enslaved stasis. Nonetheless, an accomplished, visually stunning homage to an important African-American artist. (author's and illustrator's notes, bibliography, websites) (Picture book/poetry/biography. 7-10)