 The Potato People Pamela Allen Penguin 2002
| The "Potato People is an excellent story about a young boy and his Grandma. They play Hide-and-Seek together, make cakes together and romp together. But one rainy Friday, they are bored and cant think of anything to do. Then Grandma gets a great idea and retrieves three potatoes from under a bowl and they begin putting features on immediately. They mould and shape, they remove pieces and stick pieces on until they have two little apple-men! Then one day the boy and his mother had to go away. Grandma is sad because the boy cant come. Friday after Friday, Grandma waits and waits, but still he does not come. The only thing she has to remind her of him was her memories and the potato people. As time passes the potato start to wither and lose their shape. So Grandma has no choice but to bury them in the compost. Finally the boy arrives the next Friday. Grandma is extremely happy to see him again, but she forces herself to tell him the sad news about the potatoes. She goes outside to show him where she buried the potatoes, but after all this time that the potatoes have been under the ground, the compost heap had turned into a beautiful potato tree. Well, it was the last time Grandma saw it. But something terrible had happened to the tree. I wont spoil it for you, but I will say that it keeps you hooked till the very end. I think the pictures in this book are very good. I wish to read more Pamela Allen books in the future. I would give this book 9 out of 10 and would recommend it for people aged between 5 and 10.
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| The Potato People is the perfect book for Grandmothers to read to younger children, who love to play hide and seek, wrestling, eat cake and romp together. It is extremely easy to read, really easy to follow, it has satisfying ending, the language is definitely appropriate for younger children but is not exciting enough for those older then 7 or 8 years and it would be excellent book for a grandmother to give to her grandchild. The story is merely to entertain you and the pictures are very cute. I love the Grandmothers personality you can tell by just simply looking at some pictures that the Grandmother has a great sense of humor and is a real character. By looking at the pictures you can tell the Grandmother and the young child have an excellent relationship and the pictures of the potato people are a lot like the grandmother and the child in the story! I found that the pictures sort of matched the Grandmothers feelings at the time and it made me feel the way she felt-the anxiety she had for her Grandson to come back and visit her on Fridays again, the excitement when he did come and the gloom when he was not there. It was a wonderful book and I give this book a 6 out of 10 for my age group (9 and over). It is a very cute story, would definitely be love by people 3-8! | ||
| For Grandma, Jack is the light of her life. He comes each Friday and they romp, play, eat and read. One Friday they make potato people, a man and woman who look 'pleased with each other'. Shortly after this Jack and his mother go away and Grandma is disconsolate, watching the potato people wither. She plants the potato people when they sprout, the plants grow vigorously, then Jack returns and together they dig out an enormous harvest. Glennie Preparatory School, Toowoomba | ||
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