February 1, 2013
Grades 5-8 In this novelized biography in verse, Cheng limns the life of Dave (his only name), an enslaved nineteenth-century potter and poet. Owned by various members of the Landrum/Drake/Miles families, Dave became a master potter as a young man. Equally significant is the fact that he was literate and made it a habit to sign his pots, jugs, and jars, and often to add simple verses ( Dave belongs to Mr. Miles / wher the oven bakes & the pot biles ). This was remarkably brave at a time when South Carolina's slave-literacy law could have resulted in his being whipped, maimed, or even killed for this simple act. Dave stubbornly persisted, impressing on his work his own humanity, and approximately 170 of his aesthetically and culturally significant vessels survive in museums and private collections. Cheng illustrates her stirring work with her own simple black-and-white woodcuts. Appended material adds additional information about Dave's life and the Edgefield Pottery, of which his work is an example.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)
Starred review from December 1, 2012
Cheng follows on the Caldecott Honor-winning Dave the Potter, by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier (2010), to further open up the fascinating life of the enslaved potter named Dave for children. Records indicate Dave, who was born in the United States in 1801, was most likely purchased at a slave auction at age 17 by Harvey Drake, who, with his uncles, held the Pottersville Stoneware Manufactory in South Carolina. Dave took to the wheel within weeks and went on to become one of the most accomplished potters in the region. Cheng's spare free-verse poems masterfully highlight the repeated hardships Dave endured: being relocated no fewer than four times when loaned or sold to a new owner; losing two wives when their owners forced them to move to different states; losing his leg after being hit by a train; and, in the face of severe anti-literacy laws designed to keep slaves down, bravely creating art that "etched in clay" his ability to read and write. Says Dave: "I am not afraid / to write on a jar / and fire it hot / so my word / can never be erased." Combining visual art with poetry as Dave did, Cheng includes her own striking woodcuts, illustrating both Dave's experiences and his artistry. At once intimate and universal; the riveting story of an unforgettable life lived during an unbelievable time. (Verse biography. 9 & up)
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Starred review from February 1, 2013
Gr 5 Up-The pain of slavery and its disregard for human worth reverberates throughout this beautifully written, beautifully illustrated account of an enslaved potter in South Carolina in the 19th century. Cheng's sensitive verses, written in the voice of Dave and the people involved in his life, share the man's innermost feelings, the sensation of shaping clay on the potter's wheel, and hints at conflicts within a slave owner's mind. But even with a master who seems to have some appreciation of Dave's talents, the ugliness of slavery takes over. The matter-of-fact, unfeeling way in which Eliza, Dave's first wife, is sold off speaks volumes. Dave's need to communicate and be noticed comes out in the risk he takes by inscribing some verse and words on the pots he creates. This deep need squelches any fear of reprisals when literacy was a punishable offense for slaves. Motivated by her belief that everyone needs to read Scriptures in order to be saved, the slave owner's wife started Dave on his quest to read. Through all of the adversity, he stoically carries on despite being sold, despite having loved ones repeatedly taken from him, and despite losing a leg in a train accident, always spurred on by the need to communicate. Cheng has created a passionate homage to the human spirit, which speaks volumes in this brief book. Her woodcuts add another layer to the drama that unfolds in the telling. A powerful and uplifting biography.-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2013
Historical record leaves much unknown about this real person, a slave living in South Carolina who became a fine potter. In her interpretation of his life, through alternating perspectives and in spare free verse, Cheng sets the stage for Dave's personal stand against injustice, portraying one man's capacity to live a creative life within the confines of slavery. Silhouette-like woodcuts enhance the presentation. Bib.
(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)