One Potato, Two Potato

by Cynthia C. DeFelice and reeves-janet

Book Overview

This retelling of a Chinese folktale pays tribute to the author's Irish heritage, and to the joys of an old marriage, new friendships, and the impulse to share.

Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady are so poor they have just one of everything to share - one potato a day, one chair, one blanket full of holes, and one gold coin for a rainy day. After digging up the last potato in their patch, Mr. O'Grady comes upon a big black object. It's a pot -...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374356408
• ISBN13: 9780374356408
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.2" x 10.1"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A Spudcentric Winner

With its large pages and oversized characters, this book begs to be read to or shared with a group of youngsters. Some of the sentences are lengthy and complex in structure, but the understandable vocabulary and repetition of important words makes the story easy to understand and follow. Some of the more difficult words contained therein are: raggedy, weevil, pretended, memories, garden, curious, exclaimed, oughtn't, trembling, mattress, excitement, packages, difference, moaned, and entomologist. Just kidding about that last one. This uncomplicated story is well within the listening comprehension parameters of the target age group, but precious few first or second graders could read One Potato, Two Potato independently. This is a great book for kindling rich discussion of human nature and motivations. A teacher or parent could stop the story at several critical points in the plot and ask his or her listeners to make predictions. Andrea U'Ren's large pen and gouache illustrations are wonderfully captivating. Her use of subdued, earth colors and vast expanses of bare walls and floor reinforce the story text. Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady, impossibly tall and lanky with spindly, Olive Oyl legs, have large expressive faces that convey warmth, mutual love, and subtle degrees of sadness, pain, and joy. Potatoes are abundant in this tater intense book. Almost every page features potatoes represented verbally, graphically, or both. Students from 5 to 13 with whom I shared this book were drawn to its quirkily fashioned characters and classic storyline. Even one who has reached old fartdom, like this writer, can appreciate and enjoy the craft of the artist and the story telling wizardry of the author. I especially like the generosity, thoughtfulness and lack of greed or excess shown by the book's characters. The author's use of humor is unassuming, yet effective. There's much to like about One Potato, Two Potato. I recommend it.

A fun book to read and re-read time and time again.

I really enjoyed this book. The story sounded a lot like one I had heard as a kid many years ago, but this one was different. It had a sweeter ending. It is 30 pages long with pretty good text and very good illustrations. The story is about an old husband-wife farming team who is poor and frugal. One day when their food supply was about to run out they found a large magical iron pot buried on their land which duplicates whatever is put into it. They put some necessaries in the pot and some money - out came twice as much as was put in. The most interesting thing was that the pot worked on people just as it did on things. I probably would have liked the book better if the main characters had not been so poor and simple. I did not see the point in it. But they seemed like such nice people. 5 stars!

One Potato, Two Potato

This is a sweet story of love and caring with a surprising magical element. The illustrations by Andrea U'Ren support and carry the story beautifully. A delightful book!

An unexpected largess and dilemma.

Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady dirt poor and have to share all their raggedy belongings - one potato a day, one blanket, etc. Yet all they want in life is one friend apiece, so when a magic pot unearthed in the garden produces double of everything, their wishes seem to come true - or do they? Andrea U'Ren's drawings are a fun accompaniment to an unexpected largess and dilemma.

Another winner from DeFelice!

One Potato, Two Potato is exactly the kind of book I love using with my students! It pulls them in and keeps them guessing and excited til the end. I always know Mrs. DeFelice's picture books are kid friendly and fun to share!