Potato Man (Orchard Paperbacks) (Paperback)

~ Megan Mcdonald (Author), Ted Lewin (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When the Potato Man came to East Street, a white-haired man tells his wide-eyed grandchildren, bad luck came with him. Back then, the narrator was a boy in knee pants and the street, with its endless stream of hucksters, was an exciting place. But then the one-eyed, lumpy-faced old Potato Man arrived, scaring the girls and prompting taunts from the boys. Three times the Potato Man caught the narrator making mischief, and three times the boy wound up with extra chores at home. Finally, "I figured three times bad luck was enough for me," the narrator relates, and on the first day of winter the boy finds a way to make peace with the Potato Man. McDonald ( Is This a House for Hermit Crab? ) and Lewin ( Tiger Trek ) have created a lovely, evocative period piece. The artist's horse-drawn wagons, rugged faces and turn-of-the-century kitchen are perfectly matched by the gentle homespun writing style. Like the narrator's grandchildren, who beg him to "tell us another one about when you were a boy," readers will eagerly await more from this team. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- Children will seldom turn down a good story of the "olden days" from a grandfather, and this one gives a vivid glimpse into the early part of our century. Scissor grinders, organ grinders, and peddlers' wagons creaked through the streets and alleys in those days with things or services to sell. Mr. Angelo, with a face as lumpy as his potatoes, is just such a huckster and it seems natural that he should be the butt of the neighborhood boys' pranks. But he is the ultimate winner of these "battles" through his use of gentleness and understanding. The exceptional, realistic watercolor artwork fairly leaps from the pages with its portrayal of emotions and action. It is so evocative that readers and audiences are swept into and held to the action of the intriguing story. The manageable text contains so much descriptive phrasing that action is brought immediately to the mind's eye. With a fine balance between text and illustration, this is picture book reading at its best, revealing a genuine cohesion of word and picture. And, as all "Grampa" tales should, it gives vitality to a long-ago era, as well as subliminally teaching something of compassion, understanding, and remorse. Whether read to a group or on an individual basis, this will be a popular choice for a wide spectrum of ages. --Mary Lou Budd, Milford South Elementary School, OH
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic; 1 edition (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531070530
• ISBN-13: 978-0531070536
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,851,190 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A subtle lesson with outstanding illustrations, August 25, 2002

By	Catherine S. Vodrey (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Megan McDonald's "The Potato Man" is the tale of what happens when bullies get their comeuppance. It begins with a grandfather telling his granddaughter and grandson a story from his childhood. After just the first page, we are quickly whisked back to somewhere around the beginning decade of the 20th century. The "potato man" in question is a man who drives a vegetable-and-fruit cart, and who is catcalled and jeered at by the neighborhood boys because he is missing an eye and thus has a face that looks somewhat like a potato. It turns out that the grandfather telling the story is one of the boys who is rude to the potato man. When push comes to shove, however, and the boy realizes that he should treat the potato man as kindly as he himself would want to be treated, the potato man forgives him without a second thought. It's a powerful lesson for children.

Ted Lewin's illustrations are up to his usual sky-high standards. You can practically hear horse's hooves clop-clopping through the city neighborhood as they land on the cobblestone roads. You can almost smell the warm produce as it sits in the sun, and hear the hurdy-gurdy man as he cranks his instrument up to play "Pop Goes the Weasel." Lewin is a master, and he is in fine form here.

2.0 out of 5 stars OK but strains a bit, March 7, 2008

By	Leslie Goddard (Darien, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Potato Man (Hardcover)

I read this story aloud to a group of early elementary kids and it held their attention, I guess. The pictures are nicely evocative and the story is fine. But why does it end with that straining bit about how much the kids adore the story? And what in the world does "abba-no-potato-man" mean anyway? They really wanted to know and I couldn't figure it out. Is it something about "apples-(something)-potato"? Or some nonsense phrase? They were straining to figure it out and I felt like an idiot for not knowing.