A Bushel of Books to Check Out on National Potato Day!
Happy National Potato Day! Yep, you read that right. Today is National Potato Day, or so says someone on the internet. Ready to celebrate? Here are a billiondy spud-themed books for you to check out from your local library. Books I’ve personally read and recommend are highlighted with an *.
Books for Littles
*One Potato, Two Potato by Cynthia DeFelice, illustrated by Andrea U’Ren
[This is one of my personal favorites. I actually got to work on this book back when I was an assistant editor way back in the day. High recommend!]
Dirt poor Mr. and Mrs. O’Grady discover a magical pot that makes two of everything they put in it. An oldie but a goodie.
*No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by Don Tate
[This one’s fabulous, and Don Tate’s artwork is on point as always. A story I’d never heard before this picture book!]
Discover the incredible true story of how one of history's most successful potato farmers began life as a slave and worked until he was named the Potato King of the World
*Pugtato Finds a Thing by Sophie Corrigan
[Oh my gosh this one’s the cutest! So many adorable vegetable animals—”Tomatoad” made me laugh out loud. :) ]
When Pugtato's simple, quiet life is disrupted after he digs up a strange object in his garden, he enlists his best "spuddies" to help.
*Potato Pants! by Laurie Keller
[Laurie Keller is hilarious and I love everything she does. This one is off the charts funny, and with a great message too!]
A potato and his eggplant nemesis struggle to find the perfect pair of pants.
*Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola
[Another classic folktale from Tomie dePaola, and a great treat for St. Patrick’s Day, National Potato Day, or any old non-holiday!]
After a chance encounter with a leprechaun, Jamie finds himself growing the biggest potato in the world. But what will happen when the potato grows too large for Jamie and the villagers to handle?
*Meet the Latkes by Alan Silberberg
[This one’s a lot of fun, and a great intro to Hanukkah traditions.]
A silly story starring your favorite potato treat! Lucy Latke's family is just like yours or mine. Except that they're potato pancakes. And also, they are completely clueless.
*The Couch Potato by Jory John, illustrated by Pete Oswald
[Silly and fun, and the illustrations are fabulous.]
The Couch Potato has everything within reach and doesn't have to move from the sunken couch cushion. But when the electricity goes out, Couch Potato is forced to peel away from the comforts of the living room and venture outside.
The Life of a Potato by Vicki Hutchings, illustrated by Christine Beck
Follow a boy and his family through the process of growing and harvesting potatoes.
One Potato, Two Potato by Todd H. Doodler
Same title, different book! It's one potato, two potato, three potato, four showing up for the party. But will too many guests end up with everyone getting smushed, smashed, and mashed?
*I'm Bored by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
[This one has just the right amount of silly—plus, a talking potato!]
Just when a little girl thinks she couldn't possibly be more bored, she stumbles upon a potato who turns the tables on her by declaring that children are boring.
*A Potato on a Bike by Elise Gravel
[A great silly board book read-to for the youngest set.]
A series of silly situations to make toddlers laugh.
*Sweet Potato Pie by Charlotte Riley-Webb, illustrated by Kathleen D. Lindsey
[A great story with a lot of heart, and beautifully illustrated.]
An African American girl living in the South in the 1920s sells her mama's sweet potato pies at the Harvest Celebration to raise money and save their farm.
*The Potato King by Christoph Niemann
[I loooove the illustrations in this one, which are made completely out of potato stamps! A double win for Potato Day!]
The true story of a Prussian King who used reverse psychology to convince his people to eat more potatoes.
*George Crum and the Saratoga Chip by Gaylia Taylor, illustrated by Frank Morrison
[Such a beautiful autobiography! This book does a wonderful job of bringing this fascinating man to life.]
An account of the life and career of George Crum, a biracial chef who is credited with the invention of the potato chip at a Saratoga Springs, New York, restaurant in 1853.
Chip and Curly by Cathy Breisacher, illustrated by Joshua Heinsz
Chip the potato chip is sure he has the annual Spud City Festival sack race in the bag, but when Curly the springy curly fry shows up, Chip worries he's in trouble.
*Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy, illustrated by Carolyn Fisher
[A surprisingly sweet tale about the joy that can spring from gross old potatoes.]
When a girl finds two old potatoes, her dad suggests they grow new potatoes from the sprouted eyes.
Bud the Spud by Stompin Tom Connors, illustrated by Brenda Jones
Travel with Bud as he steers his rig down the highway with a load of "the best doggone potatoes that's ever been growed."
You're My Little Latke by Natalie Marshall
Celebrate the love between parents and children with a holiday twist.
*Rot, the Cutest in the World! by Ben Clanton
[This one just cracks me up. That jellyfish!! Definitely worth a read.]
Rot is a mutant potato who loves games and contests. So when he sees a sign for the "Cutest in the World Contest," he can't wait to enter.
Books for Middles
The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin
Dickory Dock comes to 12 Cobble Lane to take a job as painter's assistant, but soon finds finds herself solving crimes instead.
*Chef Yasmina and the Potato Panic by Wauter Mannaert
[Silly and weird and fun. A great pick for fans of graphic novels.]
When Yasmina’s garden is bulldozed and replaced with a strange new crop of potatoes that make her neighbors suddenly act like a bunch of crazed canines, Yasmina needs to find a cure, and fast!
*The Epic Origin of Super Potato by Artur Laperla
[A great funny chapter book for the kiddo who loves Dog Man!]
Evil Dr. Malevolent turns the handsome hero Super Max into a tiny tuber! But justice takes many forms. It’s Super Potato's time to fly!
The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids: Ghosts Don't Eat Potato Chips by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones, illustrated by John Steven Gurney
Eddie and his friends suspect that a potato chip-eating ghost is haunting his great aunt’s home.
Potato Chip Science: 29 Incredible Experiments by Allen Kurzweil
A grab-bag of nourishing lessons in everything from physics to forensics, from navigation to neuroscience.
My Life as a Potato by Arianne Costner
Ben Hardy moves to Idaho, where the school's mascot is Steve the Spud—and when he manages to get sentenced to Spud duty for the final basketball games of the year, he worries that his plans for popularity will go up in smoke.
Here’s Hank: Always Watch Out for the Flying Potato Salad! by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver, illustrated by Scott Garrett
When Hank goes with his mom to her deli for Take Your Child to Work Day, he only has one chance to get it right—or the eggs won't be the only things that are fried!
Books for Tweens & Teens
It's a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories edited by Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman
A Jewish anthology of short stories for teens—about love, heartbreak, and the true meaning of identity from a collection of diverse Jewish authors.
Sweet Potato Jones by Jen Lowry
Okay, this one is about potatoes in name only, but it looks awesome so I had to include it on the list! Sweet Potato Jones, who’s raising her three younger siblings all by herself, finally catches a break when she meets Mrs. Sunshine Patterson, the Bible-quoting, gospel-singing owner of the Soul Food Restaurant. .
Books for Grown-Ups
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
[This one’s been on my list for a while, and thanks to National Potato Day I just checked it out from the library. (And you thought this was a nonsense holiday!)]
In 1946 London, writer Juliet Ashton sparks up a correspondence with a man about books, and ends up changing both their lives forever.
You Say Potato by Ben Crystal and David Crystal
A celebration of the myriad ways in which the English language is spoken and how our accents, in so many ways, speak louder than words.
One Potato, Two Potato, Dead: A Farm-to-Fork Mystery by Lynn Cahoon
This one wins for best title of the bunch, in my opinion. When bon vivant Daniel Monet is found dead, restaurant owner Angie Turner has to sauce out the real killer.
Crunch!: A History of the Great American Potato Chip by Dirk Burhans
A look at the “dark side” of potato chip history, including a federal investigation of the snack food industry in the 1990s following widespread allegations of antitrust activity, illegal buyouts, and predatory pricing.
All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki
Yumi Fuller returns to her hometown in the heart of the potato-farming industry, twenty-five years after she ran away, and finds herself caught up in an altogether new drama.
Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent by John Reader
The long journey of the potato, from Incan gardens in the Andes thousands of years ago to a NASA manned rocket destined for Mars in the twenty-first century.
Death of the Couch Potato's Wife by Christy Barritt
Need another spud-themed murder mystery in your life? You got it! Laura discovers her neighbor dead on a sofa with her hand buried in a snack bag of poisoned pork rinds.
Spuds, Spam and Eating for Victory: Rationing in the Second World War by Katherine Knight
A look at how experiences of rationing during WWII varied between rich and poor, town and country, and how ingenuous cooks often made a meal from poor ingredients.
…Aaaaaand that’s all. Hope you found this list enter-tater-ing! (Yeah, no, that was terrible. Let’s all pretend that never happened…)
Happy reading!
♥ Lisa
