Book Descriptions
for Children of Clay by Rina Swentzell and Bill Steen
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Eliza, Zachary and Devonna are Tewa children living in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, who are learning the traditions of making clay pottery from their grandmother, Gia Rose. Together the family members dig for clay, clean it, and mix it with sand to make it ready for sculpting. Later they will sand, polish and fire the pottery they have made. Even the youngest children in this large, extended family have a job to do and everyone is delighted to see the final results of all their hard work. (Ages 7-13)
CCBC Choices 1992. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 1992. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
Like their Pueblo ancestors, Gia Rose and her family treat the clay with respect. They believe that Clay-Old-Woman, the spirit of clay, watches over their work and that she lives and breathes within each piece of pottery. Many things have changed at Santa Clara Pueblo, but the making of pottery remains the same. It is still done completely by hand, using clay taken from the earth and other natural materials. Follow one family as they carry on the age-old Pueblo tradition of pottery-making.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.