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CM . . . .
Volume VI Number 15 . . . . March 31, 2000
excerpt: Once there was a farmer who had an eye. 
Davis has retold the familiar folk tale of the the struggle to harvest the
biggest potato in the world. At first, the farmer tries to pull the potato
out of the ground, but he is unsuccessful. Then he calls for assistance
from his wife, and, when their joint efforts fail, the children, the dog,
cat and mouse are requested to help. The combined effort ends happily with
an enormous feast involving all the villagers. Dusan Petricic's artwork is
rendered watercolour and pencil. These humorous illustrations, which
expand over most of the page, have a cartoon-like quality and add
enormously to the story. The pictures of the farmer and his wife, who are
potato shaped, and the pets with their expressive faces are wonderful. The
story is retold in very simple repetitive language which makes the book
more effective as a read aloud story than as a silent read; however,
beginning readers will have a sense of accomplishment when they follow the
patterns in the story by themselves. The repetition invites audience
participation, but the style uses such a limited vocabulary that,
potentially, the repetition can be irritating. Nonetheless, libraries
needing to add to their folktale collection will find The Enormous
Potato a welcome addition.
Recommended. Meredith MacKeen is the teacher-librarian at Glen Stewart School in Stratford, P.E.I.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca. Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - March 31, 2000. AUTHORS | TITLES | MEDIA REVIEWS | PROFILES | BACK ISSUES | SEARCH | CMARCHIVE | HOME
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