Edgar Potato, an Epic Tater Tale of Courage and Redemption
Written: Nov 28 '05 (Updated Nov 28 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Classic plot line. Sympathetic main character. Lots of pictures. POTATOES. POTATOES. POTATOES.
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: This is a nice little book, one to share and enjoy. It may be difficult to find, however.
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| nagels's Full Review: Don Oickle - Edgar Potato |
This book is a variation on a classic theme, one you’ve read or viewed many times before. Someone awkward, different, perceived as inferior, the object of ridicule and derision nobly suffers the painful persecution of cruel sneers and slights resignedly, eventually evolving and emerging like a caterpillar from its cocoon, triumphant, magnificent, glorious.
You may have even lived this tale of transformation and attainment yourself, the tale of Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling, Dumbo, Rudolph, and most miraculously of all, Edgar Potato who becomes the spud spectacular, a potato prince, the Rocky of the potato world.
Setting
Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), Canada’s smallest province, is located just north of Nova Scotia. The island is approximately 1,000 miles from Toronto, 650 miles from Boston, and 850 miles from New York City. Seafood and fishing are natural industries of this island surrounded by the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Lobsters, mussels, and oysters are harvested here. In fact the lobsters are so plentiful that the McDonald’s offers McLobster sandwiches in the summer months.
Tourism and Agriculture are also major industries on the Island. Agriculture dominates because of the rich, red sedimentary soil, colored by the concentration of iron oxide. This unusual, fertile soil seems to be perfect for growing the ultimate vegetable, the noble potato. It is here on this island, home of Ann of Green Gables, that the story of Edgar, a Prince Edward Island potato, unfolds.
Spudopsis
Edgar Potato, a young spud, lives in the middle of a big potato field, comfortable in “his home of rich red Island soil.” A bounteous harvest is anticipated because of Nature’s goodness, and everyone on the Island is happy, everyone except Edgar. He has grown from a small seedling to a huge potato, so huge that his head is nearly sticking out of the soil. Poor Edgar is a sad potato because all the other potatoes make fun of him or complain about his size.
His large leaves shadow the leaves of the other potatoes who chide Edgar for blocking their sun. They complain about him taking up all the room in the row and crowding them.
One juvenile spud tells Edgar that no one will ever want him. Another says he will end up tough and pulpy. Yet another pugnacious potato predicts that Edgar will end up as pig food.
Because Edgar’s head is so close to the surface, he lives in a world different than that of the other potatoes. He can almost see the blue sky and hear the “seagulls soar on the ocean breeze.” He can feel the soft summer raindrops on his nose and at night is soothed by the sound of gentle waves lapping on the sand. Despite the beauty around him Edgar is sad and lonely.
One day Farmer Arsenault comes to the potato field with a big machine to harvest the potatoes. The young potatoes worry about their appearance, about bruises and sunburn that might keep them from being Grade A potatoes. Each wonders if he’ll become a French fry covered with ketchup, or a baked potato dressed in rich sour cream, chives, and bacon bits. One snobbish little spud tells Edgar he’d be lucky to be made into instant potatoes.
All of a sudden the harvester stops near Edgar. Farmer Arsenault and his son jump out. The young boy spies Edgar peeking out of the soil, digs him out with his bare hands, and is amazed by Edgar’s grand size. They’d never seen such a large potato with such a perfect shape and decide to enter Edgar in the exhibition at Old Home Week. Thus Edgar finds himself in Charlottetown, entered in the contest, lying radiantly on a beautiful velvet cushion. Could this maligned young tuber possibly win first prize and silence his dastardly detractors?
Spudtique and Thoughts
It should be no surprise that I think fondly of this most rare of tales, one featuring a handsome potato as its protagonist. The fact that this book was a gift to me years ago by a generous student also makes it endearing. After looking up Edgar Potato on Amazon.com and finding one listed at a stratospheric price, I am absolutely ecstatic with this treasure book.
Don Oikle and his illustrator Sue Skaalen have combined to give us an entertaining tale of vegetable triumph and redemption. I enjoyed the little factoids of Prince Edward Island interspersed throughout this 31 page little book, and uncovering them is as much fun as digging up potatoes in the garden.
However, I think I enjoyed the wonderful, sometimes poignant illustrations more than anything, from the opening two-page patchwork quilt of potato fields to the picture of a smiling Edgar resplendent on his velvet pillow. There are so many great pictures it’s impossible to pick a favorite. There’s the seedling Edgar shown in pinned diaper with little root legs sticking out, the sad faced Edgar underground surrounded by all the smaller spuds, a terrified Edgar lying in a pig trough, Edgar dreaming of being on a beauty pageant runway with his crown and sash. All of these clever illustrations merit second and third looks. Though not in color, their black and white starkness might make them even more effective in conveying Edgar's gloom and ultimate triumph.
I’d recommend this entertaining and amusing book for youngsters and potatophiles alike who are fortunate enough to find a copy of this 1985 book. It’s a familiar story happening in a potato universe. I just wish that in the end Edgar Potato could have had his comeuppance witnessed by those tormenting taters.
Edgar Potato
Story by Don Oikle
Drawings by Sue Skaalen
ISBN 0-920304-49-4
Recommended:
Yes
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