Claire Llewellyn’s Potatoes is one of the titles in her first science series telling about different types of food. Other titles in the series are: Corn, Rice, Banana, Honey, Milk, Chocolate, and Peanuts. This 32 page book was originally published in 1998, and is intended for ages 4-8. It contains mostly appropriate vocabulary for the age group, but like any science book can only be simplified to a point because of basic vocabulary and topical/generic terms for which there are no simple synonyms.
This interesting little book takes on a journey describing and depicting the potato’s life stages beginning with the spud plantings and ending with the glorious photographs of golden brown fries and tater tots beautifully arranged on three plates garnished with parsley, a dollop of sour cream, and a bright red cherry tomato. The maddeningly realistic photographs trigger the reader’s primal appetite for potatoes.
In between the genesis and final destination the young reader is exposed to terms like “vegetable, vitamins, fiber, starch, and energy” and learns that there are many different kinds of potatoes. Even without the informative text a youngster can pictorially follow the potato’s life stages, actually viewing the developing tubers in their underground beds.
He/she sees the potatoes being harvested, cleaned, packaged, shipped, and prepared for eating. The students with whom I shared this volume (as well as some adults) seemed intrigued to learn that potato starch is used in ice cream.
Random Thoughts
Very few children within the target age range will be able to read this book independently. A six-year-old student of mine could read only a handful of words in the book but enjoyed “reading” the book with me. Faring slightly better was a first grader who also enjoyed the book but couldn’t come close to reading it independently. For the second grader with whom I shared Potatoes this book would be on her instructional level. The science terms posed a problem for all of them.
The photographs for the most part are superb, but their quality is inconsistent. This is because some photographs are tricky outdoor shots and because credits for five different photographers are listed in the back. I was greatly impressed by the indoor shots of Tim Ridley.( Wells Street Studios, London) The detail and clarity of the underground photographs are also quite striking and impressive. Besides one can’t help but smile and sigh while viewing baby pictures, even of cute, little tater tots.
On the last three pages of the book one will find a glossary and an index. The same words are listed in both and are also highlighted within the text in a bold font. Unfortunately because of the young audience the definitions had to be simplified and leave a little to be desired. Some examples:
Disease – something that attacks plants
Pest – an insect that attacks plants ( so that’s what my younger sisters were!)
Vegetable – a plant grown for the parts than can be eaten ( easily understood by the young reader, at least)
As stated earlier, in a book of this type some challenging words are unavoidable. Words such as chemical, fiber, harvester, starch, tuber, vitamin, and wither are defined in the glossary and used in context. For some of the terms there are even picture clues to help with understanding.
The most frequently used word in the book is potatoes. Also within this book are 571 words and 79 sentences. This may not be the definitive potato biography but its effectively chosen photographs and well organized, linear story should appeal to many youngsters almost as much as a red-checkered paper cone at the carnival filled with, sizzling, fragrant fries.
32 pages, paperback
Ages 4-8 reading level
Dimensions 8.3 by 8.2 by .1 inches
Publisher – Children’s Press
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