The Pot That Juan Built

by Nancy Andrews-Goebel, David Díaz (Illustrator)

Quezada creates stunning pots in the traditional style of the Casas Grandes people, including using human hair to make brushes and cow dung to feed the fire. This real-life story is written in the form of "The House That Jack Built," and relays how Juan’s pioneering work has changed a poor village into a prosperous community of world-class artists. Illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner David Diaz.

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Cultural, Childrens, Art, Nonfiction, Poetry

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2002

Reviews

[S10_Jessica Oster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Age: K-5
Protagonist: Juan Quezada (picture book biography)

Detailing the process of crafting a traditional Casa Grandes pot, this is a picture book biography of Juan Quezada, a man who rediscovered a forgotten craft of the Casa Grandes people. Written in a poetic form, each new process adds to the story as a cumulative poem. Not only does it touch on the crafting process but also provides short side notes as to how it relates to the real life protagonist and how he came to rediscover a traditional way of crafting pots. Quezada's desire and passion for creating the purest of pots (in materials) has rebuilt his town as it has provided a much needed financial stability.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found the written cumulative poetic style quite enchanting. The pictures are bright and depict the process of crafting an individual pot and the unique-ness of the process and material. Not only does it highlight this unique man's vision and craft, it also relays a message that one person really can bring positive change to town they live in. As an adult, it made me want to travel to Mexico and purchase one of these unique hand made pots.


Andrews-Goebel, N. (2002). The pot that Juan built. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books Inc.
Based on the life and work of Juan Quezada, a well known Mexican potter who rebuilt and reestablished financial stability for his community through his pottery, Andrews-Goebel presents a biographical story that focuses on the craft of Quezada’s pottery. It is written in the style of a cumulative poem (like that of “The House that Jack Built”) and includes small sections on every spread that aid in providing further information about the process being described. This charming book would lend itself well to art or poetry classes. Students could be challenged to write a cumulative poem based on the story of their life. (Grades 2-10)

[Lauma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an inspirational biographical picture book about Juan Quezada whose interest in recreating the traditional pots of the Cases Grandes people transformed his impoverished village in Mexico into a prosperous community of world-renowned artists.

I love that it provides three different levels of detail for use with different age groups. The pages on the left tell Juan's story through cumulative rhyme (like "The House that Jack Built") for grades K - 2, while the page on the right will give a detailed account of the story targeted for older readers in grades 3 - 5. At the end of the book, there is an "Afterword" that provides more historic explanations of the people of Mata Ortiz and the artist's methods for creating his pottery.

The illustrations are bold, colorful, and stylized representations of life in this small town in Mexico. Children will like the bright orange and blue backgrounds, the geometric designs of the natural elements, and the focus on Juan and the animals in his village. The Afterword contains actual photographs of the artist and his pot-making process.

Great book for all ages!

[Crystal Bandel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pot That Juan Built by Nancy Andrews-Goebel, published 2002.

Nonfiction.

Picture book.

Grades K-5.

Found via School Library Journal, reviewed by Kathleen T. Isaacs.

This reworking of "The House that Jack Built" tells the story of Juan Quezada, a potter who revitalized the traditional pottery techniques of the Casas Grandes Indians and started a local artists' colony. The text on the left-hand pages uses the familiar repetitive structure to tell readers about the creation of Juan's pots, while the right-hand pages go into more specific information about Juan's story. The illustrations use traditional Mexican techniques, and an author's note at the end of the book provides further information and small photographs of Juan's pots. Reviewer Isaacs explains that, "[w]hile the cumulative rhyme works for younger children, the accompanying explanation of the process makes the book useful for older readers interested in art or culture." This book should work with all audiences, especially those interested in Hispanic art history.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captures me on many levels. There is the mimicry of "The House That Jack Built" so it is a great addition to a unit on cumulative stories. There is a wonderful non-fiction component, so it can be paired with biography or "how-to" units and of course the art component means that this book would be fabulous with a pottery unit too. On top of all of those thematic possibilities, the illustrations are dazzling in themselves. David Diaz uses bold colors and design that captures readers.

My students immediately began to chime in on the rhyming portion of the text. They especially loved the line, "Before it was baked in the cow manure fire." Each two page spread has a bit of the rhyme and the facing page has a brief explanation to go along with it. This is where the details are explained like the fact that Juan does in fact gather cow manure and uses it as the fuel for the fire.

My students were fascinated to learn that this story is about a real person and there is a website http://juanquezadapottery.com/home.html that shows some of the pictures from the information section at the end of the book in addition to even more pictures of his actual work.

To see that one man taught himself how to create pots of such beauty using only the natural materials from the land around him is pretty amazing. That he shared this knowledge with his community so they could also create these kinds of pots is even more inspiring. My third graders were quite impressed with his abilities and also found the rhyme to be quite fun. It is a joy to be able to share such a unique non-fiction text with my students.

After using the book in lessons, I also found several videos online so in the future we will also get to hear from Juan Quezada himself.

I will be recommending this book to many people in the future.

Originally reviewed at Reading Through Life http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2014/03...

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a project I was doing on pottery and I just loved it. On the left page of each two-page spread was a poem or song that talked about the pot that Juan built, appropriate for all ages. But when reading to older children, there is historical background on the true story of Juan Quezada on the right page. His story is really interesting. He discovered a broken piece of pottery from an ancient people that had lived in his town over 600 years and then he just goes on a personal discovery that brings the pottery back to life and turns his community from a poor village to a prosperous community of world-famous artists. There is also an afterword which has more historical information. This book could use in a cultural spotlight about Mexico, it could be read when doing a unit on pottery, it can be read during history. There's many ways to incorporate in the classroom. It's very interesting. I definitely recommend it.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book tells the true story of Juan Quezada, a famous pot maker in Mexico. The story is structure to the poem/story of the house that jack built, it has rhyme an repetition and builds on the materials and pot making process from the last page. At the back of the book there is a glossary, map and pages on the history of the town in which these famous pots were made and the people.

This book could be used cross curricular in ml lessons, art, d&t, history, geography and science. The children could study the culture and people in Mata Ortiz and consider why this traditional pot making process died out. Children could design/make their own pots and discuss the unique natural materials used to make the pots, their properties and how they work.

This book is available in Spanish and English so they can be read alongside each other.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully done biography with accompanying rhyming poem that adds a line whenever we learn a new step with Juan, who is making one of his pots. I loved the text style they chose to use, the illustrations were lovely (and I just realized that David Diaz was the guy who did the wonderful illustrations for Eve Bunting's "Smoky Night" which I also loved), and the afterword fascinating. I have hand-built, and wheel-thrown pottery before (though I prefer the wheel), so it was interesting to see how Juan did it in the traditional style without all the modern conveniences that most potters use today.

[Q_michelene Haggard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book - entertaining and informational. A biography of Juan Quezada. The story is told in dual format, one side in rhyme and repetition patterned after "The House that Jack Built", and the other in prose. It tells how Quezada discovered and uses the traditional pottery methods of the Casas Grandes people, and how he has taught these methods to the people in his village which has helped lift them from poverty. The back includes a section with photographs explaining more fully how the pottery is made. I learned a lot from this book. Shows Quezada's curosity, creativity and compassion. He helped himself and tuned and helped his whole village. Good for all ages.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part folk song, part biography, part art history, this picture book tells the story of Juan Quezada who recreated the process of making pre-Colombian pottery.

The book uses the old 'the house that Jack built' style of song of repeating and building verses to tell how he made pottery, with prose blocks of text on each page going more in depth on how he re-created a form of art once lost.

Gorgeous illustrations in bold, bright and yet dreamlike swirls and loops that reflect the desert and the pottery designs illustrate the story of an artist who deserves recognition both for creating beautiful objects and preserving a lost art form.

[Ashley]

audience: primary

genre: poetry and nonfiction

quote promoting mental images and rationale:"The beautiful pot that Juan built" (pg 21).

While this quote seems simple, it appears at the end of the long, rhyming poem-like story that has gone into detail describing Juan figuring out how to make pottery, describing the process, and what the pot looks like-- summarizing simply with the quote above. I would have students create drawings or projects with construction paper to show the beautiful pot that they see in their mind after reading the story.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't run across a children's picture book before that I could classify as "inspiring" until this book. Here we take something familiar ("The House Jack Built") and give it a twist - at times funny, always interesting. And then alongside of it, tell the story behind the story, of a man who changed his entire community for the better. This is very cool, and very well done. Share this with your family but be sure to read all the notes on the side, AND everything in the afterward. Loved this!

[Wes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that way that this book is laid out. It may seem like asimple or just a kids book but I say that we can all learn from it. Their are wonderful illustriations throughout. A story of making apot is presented in prose on one side of the page. On the other is a tale that reads more or less like a history lesson. The tale woven is tha of Juan Quezada, a premier Mexican potter.

[Casey Strauss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the creative telling of how a clay pot is made. The main text of the story is told in rhyme, with a pattern. Accompanying this text is factual information telling the life story of Juan Quezada. The extensive afterword details both Quezada's life, his connection to his culture, his artwork, and the pot making process. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story engaging.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, similar to the House that Jack built, but based on the life of artist-potter Juan Quezada. Uses rhyme and repetition for a great read a loud for younger kids. Has prose to describe pottery process for older elementary.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The illustrations were fascinating with the vibrant Mexican colors. The biography included on each page was very interesting and added to the understanding of Juan Quezada's art. This book of poetry would appeal to children of all ages.

[Lisa Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true story of Juan Quezada, who rediscovered the way ancient people built pottery. He changed a poor town in Mexico into a community of artists. Very inspirational!

[Kyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fabulous! I love the story along with the poem.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pot That Juan Built is a children's picture book written by Nancy Andrews-Goebel and illustrated by David Díaz. It is a biographical picture book of Juan Quezada – a potter.

Mid-September to Mid-October, at least in my part of the world is Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.

Juan Quezada Celado is a Mexican potter known for the re-interpretation of Casas Grandes pottery known as Mata Ortiz pottery. Quezada is from a poor rural town in Chihuahua, who discovered and studied pre Hispanic pottery of the Mimbres and Casas Grandes cultures. He eventually worked out how the pots were made with no help from ceramicists or specialists in these cultures.

Andrews-Goebel's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, informative, and lyrical. Written in a rhyming style similar a "House That Jack Built", Andrews-Goebel accumulates the often humble factors that shaped an extraordinary artist. On the right side, in smaller print, provides a straightforward elaboration of the potting process. Díaz ingeniously ties the two narrative threads together with strongly horizontal compositions and radiant, stencil-like digital renderings.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It is a cursorily biography of one of Mexico's noted potters, albeit a tad unknown around his parts. It shows his tenacity in finding his niche in the art form. The book shows Quezada both at work and seeking inspiration in the scrubby foothills of his environment.

All in all, The Pot That Juan Built is a wonderful biographical picture book about Juan Quezada – Mexico's renowned potter.

[Rebecca Leedham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a villager named Juan that uses various materials around the village to make pots. Throughout the different materials, he continues to create beautiful pots. The artwork shows the pots that seem to be more stable than others. At the end of the book, Juan makes a pot out of clay which shows how he found what pots are best made out of. This book would be a great way to bring culture into the classroom. If I had any ELL students that I knew came from a cultural background similar to that of this book, I would definitely incorporate it into a lesson to help create diversity within the class. This book also shows perseverance as Juan makes pots out of different things until he gets it just the way he wants—another great use for a lesson in the classroom. Overall, a great book to bring to the classroom but there are not any major themes presented; other than slightly perseverance.

[Jazmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pot that Juan Built by Nancy Andrews-Coebel and illustratred by David Diaz, is an informative book that teaches children about the artist Juan Quezada, and the contributions he made to his town in Mexico. Older elementary students like fourth through sixth graders can appreciate this book because the pictures are simplistic and the text is repetitive as well. The text itself is lengthy and is meant to inform, thus older readers would benefit from it. The illustrator David Diaz is a Caldecott winner for his book Smoky Night.
The story takes place in Chihuahua, Mexico where a young boy named Juan began to spark his interests in the pottery of the Casa Grande people, who vanished from Mata-Ortiz over 600 years ago. Thus, by searching for old remains of broken pottery Juan learned to re-create the lost art form of the Casa Grande which was pot pottery making. He prided himself in only using natural materials, like maneuver, human hair brushes, and minerals he dug to make the clay, even the paint was locally attained. Eventually, the president of Mexico recognized his efforts to and was awarded a high award for artists. He even teaches the town of 2,000 the pottery art making, and has 400 artists working creating a stable local economy of artists.
The text is very rhythmic, and the author rotates long paragraph pages to one sentence pages. At times she makes the reader recall all the process that Juan has to go through as he gains another piece to make his pot. This book can be used to teach about other cultures, the importance of local economies, and how one person can make a huge impact on their community.
The illustrations are very bright in blues, oranges, yellows, pinks and are very representative of Mexican folklore. It has minimal details and paints picture for the reader that the town where Juan lives really is in the middle of nowhere. Everything seems arid, and Juan is given a Mayan feel by Diaz by drawing an oblong eye, and getting his profile, like the ancient civilizations portray their people. There are also swirls and lines that guide your eye to Juan, and what he is working on . The cover itself has all the elements we just discussed with Juan holding the pot, illuminated by an aura, emphasizing the importance of it in his life.
I give this book 5 star and see it useful in the classroom as not only a cultural book but also a book that carries a message of strength to communities. Students will definitely appreciate The Pot that Juan Built, like museums everywhere do.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that in *my* opinion, The Pot that Juan Built is *not* a three-star book! This is a beautifully illustrated book, the colors are fantastic (especially when you live in the grey Pacific Northwest--we gotta take our sun wherever we can get it, even if that is off the pages of a book), and I loved the "this is the house that Jack built" style of the text. I also loved that a biography of Juan Quezada was on the facing page of each "This is the pot that Juan built" page. So we got two stories for the price of one! There is also an afterword in this book that discusses the history of the Mata Ortiz village, and a "gallery" showing how Juan Quezada makes his pots. This, in my opinion, is a four or five star book.

Now. The children. Oh, those children... My nephew hated the book. He was very bothered by the "This is the house that Jack built" style of the text. It was annoying to him to the point that he asked me to stop reading it. I didn't, because he wasn't the only listener. My niece is the owner of the second set of ears. She liked the book, but wasn't *that* impressed with it. The "this is the pot that Juan built" story did not spark her interest in having me read Juan Quezada's biography to her. It was clear that the kids just weren't taken with this book, so they didn't get to hear Quezada's biography--I read it to myself. My niece would probably call this a two-star book.

So you know, this is probably just a "to each his own" kind of book. Maybe kids will either like it, or hate it. I wish the kids in my life were in the "like it" camp. As for me, I wish I could plaster my walls with the pages in this book. The colors and the sun would be really nice!

[James K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is versatile in that it is appropriate for grades 1-5 depending on its uses. Following the pattern of "The House that Jack Built", this story tells how Juan Quezada makes his famous clay pots. Apart from the poem, each set of pages also has some biographical information about Juan, which really helps to get many uses out of this text. The book explains how Juan grew up in an impoverished village, but his admiration for the ancient art of clay pottery helped to increase the wealth of the village. I really enjoyed this book for its duality between the biography of Juan Quezada and the poem detailing how the pots are made. The illustrations accurately reflect what is happening on the page, and even provide great insight to the geography and culture of Mexico. If I were to read this to younger children in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade, I would only read the poem part of the book. Then, I would develop their recall abilities by assigning a project that explains how Juan makes his clay pots. For the older grades, I would develop their vocabulary skills since the author uses many tier-2 words such as "impoverished", "abundant", and "prosperous". Also for older grades, I would assign a project researching specific people and use the biography of Juan Quezada throughout the story and at the end as a model for my students.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pot That Juan Built, written by Nancy Andrews-Coebal and illustrated by David Diaz,tells the true story of how premier Mexican potter Juan Quezada revived the age-old pottery technique of his ancestors and in the process revived his native village of Mata Ortiz. Written in the format of "The House that Jack Built," Andrews-Coebal describes how Quezada makes the pottery in the traditional manner. Also on every page are informational narratives about Juan and how he came to revive the technique and the town. Diaz's bright and colorful illustrations add beauty to this cultural story. The Afterword shows photographs of Juan, the pottery process, and the beautiful pottery itself.

Themes: Traditions, Excellence, Hispanic Heritage, Community, Art

Ways to use the book with children:
*Make pottery using the traditional methods from the book. Discuss any difficulties.
*View "Mata Ortiz Pottery: An Inside Look" produced by the author and her husband. Discuss Juan Quezada's effect on his community. What changes have brought prosperity to your own local community?
(http://teacher.scholastic.com/product...)

Additional Info:
*2004 Pura Belpre Award--Honor Book Illustrator

[Alexandria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in the style of “The House That Jack Built”, The Pot that Juan Built is a based on a true story about a man named Juan Quezada who creates beautiful pottery from the natural resources of his poor village. One day Juan stumbles upon a pure white clay, known as Barro Blanco that changes his entire community’s life. Using the traditional style of the Casas Grande’s people, Juan teaches his friends and family how to create pots and transform the community from an impoverished disadvantaged village into a community of world-famous artists.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was how colorful and vibrant the illustrations were. It seemed to be very reflective of the style that Juan portrayed in his pottery. I also really enjoyed the rhythm that the left hand pages followed (The House that Jack Built); however, I did not enjoy the flow of the text on the right hand page that went into more detail. I think I would have enjoyed the book much better had that pattern continued throughout. One of the major themes from this book that stands out to me is that no matter where you come from you can always make something of yourself and have a positive impact within your community.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book for the younger groups. I picked up this book to teach a comprehension lesson to the fourth graders this week. The book is set to the nursery rhyme "Jack be Nimble" and follows the path real life potter, Juan Quezada, takes to create his amazing works of art. Even though I am not using the informational pages for my lesson, they are very interesting. Each paragraph is set in the bottom of the right page containing true facts about Juan, the area in Mexico he is from, as well as interesting facts about the pottery. The pictures are extremely colorful and, I think, do an excellent job of displaying the Mexican culture. The poems follow a progression and build upon one another to explain, in a very colorful way, the steps Juan takes to make his pot. In my particular lesson I am using a sequencing organizer and the very last page of the poem. I plan on having the students read the lines of the poem and place each step in the appropriate block. I am hoping all goes well and they enjoy the poem as much a I did.

[Rebecca Tenbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very unique book that focused on the life of Juan Quezada. Juan spent his whole life as a pot maker and it would make intricate and unique pots made of clay. Throughout the book it focuses on each aspect of making the pot and it tells a short story on how he discovered the way of doing that or how he does it. I really liked that on the right hand side of the book it gave information on Juan and his pot making process but on the left side of the book it turned these facts into a poem which explained the same thing, how he makes his pots. The author did a great job at providing additional information at the end of the story which I found fascinating. I could tell that the author spent a great deal of time in Juan's homeland to learn more information about Juan and the pots he makes. I would love to share this with a class I really think that they would enjoy the information given on Juan as well as the fun rhyming poetry provided on the topic as well. Students could even use this book as a mentor text to explain something they like to do step by step.

[Noelle Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the same style as The House That Jack Built; The Pot that Juan Built is a based on a true story about a man named Juan Quezada who creates beautiful pottery from the natural resources of his poor village. One day Juan stumbles upon pure white clay, known as Barro Blanco that changes his entire community’s life. Using the traditional style of the Casas Grande’s people, Juan teaches his friends and family how to create pots and transform the community from a poor neglected village into a community of world-famous artists.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was how colorful and vibrant the illustrations were. It seemed to be very reflective of the style that Juan portrayed in his pottery. I also really enjoyed the rhythm that the left hand pages followed (The House that Jack Built); however, I did not enjoy the flow of the text on the right hand page that went into more detail. I think I would have enjoyed the book much better had that pattern continued throughout.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 2004 Pura Belpre Honor Book for Illustration is a must-have for any children's collection. Done in the style of the classic "The House that Jack Built," this book tells the true story of renowned potter Juan Quezada of Mata Ortiz, Mexico. On the left page is the story based on the facts, while on the right is the actual true story, told in paragraph form. Children will enjoy both as they read about Quezada's method for making his pots using the same methods as the Casas Grandes people. Andrews-Goebel includes an afterword which tells more about Quezada and his community, which has been transformed by Quezada's sharing his talent with his neighbors, which has allowed them to sell their work and transform their economy. Andrews-Goebel also shares photographs in the afterword as well. Diaz also deserves ample credit for his beautiful illustrations, which are rendered in Adobe Photoshop.

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Pot That Juan" built is a picture book written in the same poetic style as "The House That Jack Built". The story tells the process that Juan, who lives in Mexico, uses the ancient style of the Casas Grande people to make a beautiful pot. The book outlines the whole process of making the pot, and includes details like the firing process. I really enjoy how this story not only tells about the process of making a pot, but it invites conversation of different cultures. The pot that is being made in the book follows a style that comes from the Mata Ortiz village. In addition to learning about the culture of Mexican pot making, the illustrations are eye-catching. The use of color and line is vivid and bright, it appears to radiate its own light. Children will love the illustrations and enjoy the simple story line of this wonderful book.

[Kristen Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book! The rhythm of the words made it fun to read. On the left hand page was a poem-like narrative of how the pot was built--all of the way from the cow's manure! And on the right hand page was a more detailed recount of the actual work that was put into the pot. Together, the two parts did a really nice job of tying the story together. I bet little kids would just want to read the poem part, but maybe while they are looking at the pictures the parents could read the detailed version. The illustrations were awesome. It is SUCH a colorful book that really catches your eye on each page. I loved looking at all of the details and bright watercolor paintings. I liked this multi-cultural book a lot!