Both female authors wrote about the same man and the same marvelous creation. Both researched their topic, though one of them may have dug a little deeper. The two resulting books are as differently flavored as salt and pepper potato chips and barbecue chips, as distinctive as Utz, Herr’s, Zapps, Cape Cod or Lay’s. The differences in focus, approach, purpose, and artistic accompaniment are objectively observed. A reader’s preference for Penelope Stowell’s more narrowly focused The Greatest Potatoes or Galia Taylor’s broader biography George Crum and the Saratoga Chip is a matter of subjective taste. Both authors credit George Crum with the invention of the potato chip at Moon’s Lake House Lodge in Saratoga Springs, New York. Ms. Stowell does inform the reader that George is half American Indian and half black but doesn’t really dwell on that fact. Ms Taylor, on the other hand, and her illustrator never let the reader forget that George was “a man of color.”
Spudopsis
In front of the laughing students in a one room schoolhouse stands a young George Crum, humiliated because he can’t count to a hundred like the others. George is “part Native American and part African American at a time when people of color in the United States were often treated as inferior.” The feisty and mischievous George grows up with his sister Kate in the 1830’s. The young man loved the outdoors, fishing, hunting, exploring, and deftly shooting the bow and arrow. While hunting in the mountains, George met a Frenchman who taught him how to cook like an expert.
To capitalize on his newfound skills George sought a job as a chef in a restaurant. The quest was difficult because of his race. Eventually George becomes the chief chef at Moon’s Lake House and quickly becomes famous for his fabulous culinary skills. George had little patience with the fussy, affluent customers who “ acted as if they were better than the people serving them. Sister Kate, who also worked there, did her best to keep her brother’s emotions in tow.
One day a woman placed an order for French-fries, a fashionable and popular item of the day. George prepared a perfect plate of piping hot French-fries, but the woman complained that they were cut too thick. George was incensed. He cut the next batch of potatoes so thin that one could see through them and cooked them in oil until they sizzled with crispness. Wanting to see the customer’s reaction firsthand, George served her the fried potatoes personally. To his utter surprise the woman loved the new potato dish and called them the best potato delicacy she’d ever tasted. Thus the potato chip was born.
George’s fame and success allowed him to buy some land and build his own restaurant, Crum’s place. It was so popular a destination that there were always long lines. George decided that every customer had to wait his turn, no matter his or her age, race, gender, status or class. “Everyone was equal at Crum’s Place.”
Chips and Dips of Potato Head Thoughts
The School Library Journal assigned this book a grade 1-5 target level. Booklist has determined this book’s suitability as grades 2-4. George Crum is far too wordy for reading to a first grader and far beyond any first grader’s independent reading level with words like: prickle, frustrated, feisty, inferior, mischievous, Adirondack, mountains, imitating, restaurant, techniques, venison, recipes, and fashionable. After some discussion with colleagues, we determined that this book is most appropriate for fourth graders. Amazon tags it for ages 4-8!
Despite her research, the author plays loosey goosey with historical events, a necessary contrivance in historical biographies. Her version of the potato chip’s creation parallels most other versions though many believe that the irate customer who triggered George Crum’s moment of inspiration was actually Cornelius Vanderbilt. The diner’s identity has not been determined categorically. In Ms. Taylor’s version, the diner is female and in the illustrations appears to be a woman of color.
The acrylic artwork of Frank Morrison accompanying the text is actually quite good. On the cover is a depiction of George Crum holding a dish of fresh chips. The artist’s pictures are large, detailed, and colorful. His use of light, shadow, and exaggeration of facial features is very effective and adds to the enjoyment of the story.
Considering the dearth of information available, this is a good capsule biography of George Crum. Some possible embellishment doesn’t detract from the story and the author’s message that George succeeded despite the racial attitudes of the time. I would have preferred more emphasis on the potato chip creation than the issues of race, but other readers may feel that the author balances her message and story well.
George Crum is said to be half African-American and half Native-American. In this book the emphasis is on George’s African-American ancestry, in other versions his Native-American heritage is heralded.
George Crum and the Saratoga Chip has many instructional possibilities, and George Crum’s perseverance under adverse conditions is certainly admirable.
32 pages
Language – English
Dimensions – 10.6 by 8.5 by .5 inches
Manufactured in China
Unfortunately one can't eat chips in the library because chips are noisily crunchy, greasy, and crumby.
It's best to eat the chips in the car, outside the library, or maybe in the foyer if nobody's looking.
This review has been entered in laurashrti’s Library Week write-off. National Library Week I borrowed this book from my local library.
Gaylia Taylor began writing children’s books after retiring from her career as a Reading Recovery teacher. For this book she started her research online and eventually contacted the Saratoga Springs Historical Society. She also sourced books and newspaper articles for additional information.
In honor of George, perhaps those tiny pieces of chips at the bottom on the bag should be referred to as crums, not crumbs.
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