The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr Eccentric Genius by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

Greenberg, J. & Jordan, S. (2013). The mad potter: George E. Ohr eccentric genius. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press.

The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr Eccentric Genius was written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. In 2014, the book was chosen as a Sibert Honor Book. This book is a biography about George E. Ohr, who was a potter who lived in Biloxi, Mississippi in the late 19th and early 20th century. The story follows George’s career as a potter.  George was an eccentric and egotistical man and proclaimed himself “the mad potter.” He tried to sell his unique pottery during his lifetime with little success. His pottery did not become well known in the United States until well after his death.

This book would be a great resource to make a classroom connection with the art curriculum. In the classroom,students could read about George E. Ohr and his ceramics and then try to create their own works of art using modeling clay in the art classroom.

I enjoyed reading this book because there was a lot of information about Ohr and his career in pottery. There were many colorful photographs of pottery and historical photographs that greatly enhanced the story. Given the specific subject matter of this book, the audience in the classroom setting may be a little limited although it would be an interesting way to introduce lesser known artists to children.

(Image retrieved from amazon.com)