Dream Carver
Written by: Diana Cohn
Illustrated by: Amy Cordova
Elementary Grades
"Inspired by the life of renowned Oaxacan woodcarver Manuel Jimenez, newcomer Cohn and Cordova (My Land Sings) tell of Mateo, a young woodcarver who bravely breaks with a generations-old artistic tradition. The subsistence farmers of the boy's village are known for their juguetes, tiny carvings of wooden animals so small they could fit in the palm of a hand, carved by men and boys, and painted in fiesta-bright colors by women and girls. But Mateo dreams of carving life-size animals, with surfaces that tingle with vibrant, improbable colors and surreal patterns. I see animals so big and bright that I will need to carve them with a machete! he tells his disapproving father. When Mateo ultimately produces a glorious wooden menagerie including a quetzal with majestic feathers he wins over not only Papa, but the entire village, and a new way of carving is born."
Publishers Weekly Review
Online Resources:
http://www.dreamcarver.org/dreamcarver.php
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