Ever wonder about things? Ever wonder how they get the stripes in the toothpaste tube? Why carrots are orange? How jellybeans are made? Why the sky is blue? Where those missing socks in the dryer go? How some women always seem to know things you didn’t tell them? Why Mr. Potato Head is smiling? Then this book is for you, Mr. or Ms. Wonderer.
From Eye to Potato is a hardback book from the Children’s Press, a division of Scholastic. It’s intended for ages 4-8 or grades 1-2. On the back cover we see the following information:
Guided Reading Level
Word Count 231
Decodability 76%
Sight words 33
Let’s Take the Tour
The cover is outstanding and motivational. A lime colored spine features leaves from top to bottom. Dominating the front cover is a striking photograph of an entire potato plant seemingly ripped from the earth intact. At one glance we see potato foliage, stalks, roots and tubers, small and large. Beneath the large cover photo are three zoomed photos lined across the bottom. On the back cover is a photograph of flowering potato plants with these words beneath: “ Open this book to find out more about how potatoes grow.”
How could any reader with even a modicum of curiosity not be compelled to spread open the covers and dig in?
WORD HUNT – Seven words are pictured and respelled phonetically. These words will appear in bold within the book’s text. The magnificent seven: eyes, fruits, roots, seeds, seed potatoes, sprouts, tubers.
Of interest – Roots spelled phonetically is “roots.”
The story begins with a picture of a young boy eating a supper of peas, chicken, and fries. Introducing the text in large green font are the words “Yum! Potatoes!” The author then proceeds to explain the life cycle of the spud, from eye to sprout to plant, to roots, to full blown tubers. A close-up image of a sprouting eye actually looks hideous, alien, frightening, and disgusting. It’s a wonder of nature that from such a gruesome element is spawned the paradigm of nature’s bounty, the noble spud.
The book ends with a two-page extravaganza illustrating the potato life cycle in five steps, beginning with a sprouting eye and ending with the extraction of the potato plant from the ground. Subsequently the seven new words introduced earlier are defined and again spelled phonetically.
Interesting factoid – sprouts spelled phonetically is “sprouts.”
As a send off to more reading adventures, the reader is left with four photographs of additional tubers: cassava, jicama, sweet potato, and water chestnut. Did you know that chestnut spelled phonetically is “c-h-e-st-n-u-t”?
Finally
The book’s photographs and absolutely stunning, with uncanny clarity and detail. They are HD quality. My favorites are the tubers and the picture of the man ripping a potato plant out of the ground, roots and tubers exposed and dirt cascading to the ground.
Usually a book of this nature is hampered by difficult and challenging vocabulary, unavoidable and intrinsic to the topic. The author does an excellent job side-stepping these boulders in the road and yet conveying her message fully.
I really like this little book. I like the limited word bank, the fabulous photographs, the repetition of key words, the varied yet simple sentence structure, and most of all I like the subject matter. Were it put to a vote, I’d say the eyes have it.
24 pages
Printed in the United States
Reading Consultant consulted – Cecilia Minden-Cupp Ph.D.
No potatoes were harmed in the making of this book.
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