The Enormous Turnip [Paperback]

Alexei Tolstoy (Author), Scott Goto (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Green Light Readers Level 2

They pull and pull again, but will they ever pull that turnip up? Scott Goto breathes new life into this classic Russian folktale with bright colors and bold illustrations, making it accessible for even the earliest reader.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Gr 1-2-A fun-filled retelling of this classic tale about the power of cooperation, told in creative language for beginning readers. An old man plants a turnip, encouraging it to grow and grow. When it becomes enormous, he gets everyone to help pull it out. The predictability, sequencing, and repetition allow children to build up their confidence as new readers. Goto's richly colored illustrations expressively enhance the text. A solid pick.-Karen Land, Greenport Public School, NY. (School Library Journal )

About the Author

ALEXEI TOLSTOY (1883-1945) was born and lived in Russia. He wrote several children's tales as well as poems, plays, and stories for adults.

SCOTT GOTO has illustrated many books for children, including Heat Wave and Shoeshine Whittaker. He lives in Hawaii.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 24 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015204843X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152048433
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.4 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Oh Yes, My Kindergartener Loves Tolstoy" - a review of "The Enormous Turnip", March 7, 2006

By 

Pam Tee "Busy Mom" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Enormous Turnip (Paperback)

The story: Man plants turnip. Man admonishes turnip to grow. Turnip obeys. Now what?

Turnip is simply so big that man must enlist help of grandmother, who enlists help of granddaughter, who enlists help of dog, who enlists help of cat, who enlists help of one of the largest mice I've ever seen to finally unearth the turnip.

"The Enormous Turnip" is a Level 2 book. And it is a good starting place for children who are beginning to read at this more difficult level. There is lots and lots of repetition that gives practice with not only new words, but a page that is increasingly busier with print.

Compared to Green Light Reader's Level 1 books, this book has slightly smaller print and many more words and sentences per page.

Still, my kindergartener didn't have too much trouble reading it. The word choices are simple and repetitive, and the only problem she had was loosing her place on the page due to the increase in number of sentences.

Three Stars. [C+]. Marvelous artwork. Colors are dark and rich and full of fun. A great opportunity to say, "Oh yes, my kindergartener (first grader...) loves Tolstoy. Story gets old quickly though due to the repetition.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great for beginning readers, February 12, 2004

By 

Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Enormous Turnip (Hardcover)

The Enormous Turnip is a Level 2 Green Light Reader book. It stars out with an old farmer who plants a turnip. The turnip grows to be enormous and the man wants to pick it. He pulls and pulls with no luck. It's to big. He ends up getting the help of his wife, granddaughter, cat, dog and a mouse. Finally they pull up the turnip!

This is a lovely story that will excite children's imagination, and the beautiful illustrations will charm young and old alike.

I would recommed this book for kids who are just learning to read on there on. The book is prefect for grades 1-2. When the kids are able to read the book by themselves they will feel great about their reading skills.

This is also a storybook that teachers and parents will enjoy reading aloud.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great addition to our story time, May 18, 2011

By 

jellybean - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Enormous Turnip (Paperback)

I am a preschool teacher ages 3 yrs. to pre-K and have told this story using a lovely home-made version out of felt. I always like to have extensions to my stories whenever possible. This gives me a way to introduce the story characters before moving on the next day with the felt story and the children acting out the parts (using masks downloaded from the internet after googling 'Enormous turnip). I hang the masks around their necks with yarn - that way their arms are free to "pull" the one in front of them. This has been "Enormous fun" for the children. We followed this with Farm week, and 3 little pigs week. A great tie-in book from Scholastic is "The Pigs Egg" . . . about a pig who finds a turnip and thinks he's laid an egg, just like his barnyard friends - VERY cute story and great tie-in to the Enormous turnip story. Tops & Bottoms also introduces root vegetables, etc and, though lengthy, very fun and captivating if you read it with enthusiasm. All-in-all . . . a great book with beautiful illustrations. So glad I took a chance on it!