One Potato, Two Potato [Hardcover]

Cynthia DeFelice (Author), Andrea U'Ren (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: August 8, 2006 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Lexile Measure: 810L (What's this?)

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 – no ordinary pot, for what they soon discover is that whatever goes into it comes out doubled! Suddenly the O’Gradys aren’t destitute anymore. But what they really long for is one friend apiece. Can the magic pot give them that?
 
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. Using pen and gouache, the artist shows the “simple” characters in all their winning complexity.

 

One Potato, Two Potato is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3–DeFelice employs her considerable storytelling skills to give an old Chinese folktale an Irish twist. Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady are so poor that they have only one of everything, and the little they have is raggedy at that. With only one potato to share for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it's no wonder they are so skinny they [can] sit side by side on one chair…. But when Mr. O'Grady finds an old pot in his field and drops their last potato into it, the couple's fortunes change. One potato becomes two, and the pot continues to double whatever is placed in it. When Mrs. O'Grady accidentally falls into it and two Mrs. O'Gradys emerge, she comes up with an ingenious idea that brings lasting joy to her and her husband. U'Ren's large pen-and-gouache illustrations infuse the couple's grim situation with humor. The two are so tall and thin that they seem to be elastic. And the scene in which skinny legs are sticking out of the pot and then pulled out is hilarious. Their walls are full of cracks, their blankets are full of holes, but their hearts are full of love and generosity. An entertaining tale that pairs well with Lily Toy Hong's Two of Everything (Albert Whitman, 1993).–Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A whimsical and odd approach to the magic pot story. Mr and Mrs. O'Grady, their children grown and gone, live frugally: they share their one chair, and one blanket, and take turns wearing their one winter coat. Each day they dig up the one potato they share for meals. They only long, each of them, for one friend besides each other to talk with. One day Mr. O'Grady finds the last potato--and a big black pot. They put their last potato in it, and suddenly there are two! Even their single candle and gold coin are doubled. When Mrs. O'Grady accidentally falls into the pot, Mr. O'Grady pulls out two. They convince him to jump in himself, so there are two of him. Then they bury the magic pot so others will find the joy of it and live content with enough for all. The pictures are all angles and curves: U'Ren uses strong color and line to delineate the spindly couple and their threadbare surroundings. Children (or more likely adults) may wonder about the story's cloning aspect, but enchantment will win the day. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (August 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374356408
• ISBN-13: 978-0374356408
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun book to read and re-read time and time again. January 14, 2007

By Marci Twain

Format:Hardcover

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!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from DeFelice! August 13, 2006

By Beth P. Lunsford

Format:Hardcover

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!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One Potato, Two Potato January 9, 2007

By Kathryn Noles

Format:Hardcover

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!