Customer Reviews

Spuds

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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This story was about some kids with a poor mom who was working very hard. One night they went out to steal some potatoes from Mr. Kenney's farm because they were going to rot. When they heard a car coming they ducked out of sight and tried not to get caught. Read this book to find out what happens to Jack, Eddie, and Maybelle.

This book might appeal to people living in rural communities because it has a farmer as one of the main characters. People who enjoy stories that have a touch of sadness in them might enjoy reading this book and it's happy ending. This is a good book for kids to learn the lesson that it is not a good idea to steal from others.

I really enjoyed the part of the story where Jack dumped out the three sacks and found and interesting surprise. I liked the way this story made my emotions mix together, at times I felt sad, angry, and happy.

I think it is important to read children all kinds of books even sad or books that make us ask questions and this does that. This is a beautifully illustrated book that gives a not so happy look at life but with a happy ending.

Three children set out to help their hard working mom by stealing potatoes under cover of darkness from a neighbor's potato field.
Though the plan doesn't unfold as intended, the children learn a lesson from the reactions of the mother and the sympathetic neighbor.

The pages of this book are large, making it suitable for read aloud sharing. The story lends itself to discussion of right and wrong, feelings, and motives.

The artistry is top notch, Wendy Watson captures and creates mood with her subtle, somber shades and character faces rich in expression.
I'm not sure that four-year-olds will appreciate, like or even understand the author's use of dialect. All will be moved by Jack's heartbreak as he kneels "in the middle of the linoleum floor."

Money was sometimes hard to come by in the household and often there was "nothin' left over, not even for us kids." Ma worked very hard to support Maybelle, Jack and little Eddie. Maybelle, the oldest, was always scheming and thought they would go over to Kenney's field and harvest some spuds because if they didn't, they'd rot anyway. After Ma went to work, they got the wagon out, three old sacks and made their way to Waddell Road.

They got down on their knees and started to dig in the dirt with only the moonlight to guide them. Jack worked hard, "thinkin' on how they'd taste cooked up, fillin' [him] with all kinds of goodness." What he was thinking was one thing, what Ma would think was quite another. Oh, my, spuds weren't the only thing that went into those bags!

Wendy Watson's art work heavily contributes to the heartwarming tone of this book. Hesse, Newbery Medal Winner, has penned a lovely tale that addresses moral issues that every child encounters early in their lives in one form or another. This is an old-fashioned tale with a never-ending message of the importance of good old home-based integrity and love.

Spuds is chock full of figurative language that you can use to get your kids thinking of creative ways to use words. I use it in my second grade room to talk about vocabulary and author's purpose.