One Potato, Two Potato
Illustrator
Andrea U'Ren
Publisher
Farrar Straus Giroux
Publication Year
2006
ISBN
9780374356408
Pages
32 pages
Genre
fantasy
Format
picturebook
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
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. A very poor, humble couple live so simple a life they share everything, until the husband discovers a pot with magical powers buried under the very last potato in the garden. 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?
Grade Level
3-5
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Homelessness; homeless family
Main Character
boy and girl
Race/Ethnicities
White
Family Formation
husband and wife
Awards
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2007
Capitol Choices, 2007
Children's Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, Supplement, 2007
Choices, 2007
Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award, 2008-2009
Nominee
Emphasis on Reading, 2007, Winner, Grades K-1
Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2009, Winner / Wanda Gag Read Aloud Book Award, 2007, Honor Book, Read Aloud Toddler to Age 8
Keywords
fairy tales; potatoes; poor; elderly; magic; pot
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
DeFelice, Cynthia, "One Potato, Two Potato" (2006). Diverse Families. 905.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/905