One Potato, Two Potato

by Cynthia DeFelice
illustrated by Andrea U’Ren
© 2006

The Story

Mr. and Mrs. O’Grady’s lives are changed when they discover a magic pot buried in their potato patch. They have always longed for enough food to eat, sufficient candles to light the darkness, and some friends with whom to share their lives. In this touching and comical story, they get all that – and more!

Awards

2009 WINNER of the TEXAS BLUEBONNET AWARD!
2007 Honor Book – Wanda Gag Book Award (best picture book to read aloud to young children)
Winner of the 2006 Parent’s Choice Gold Award
CCBC in Bank St. College of Education “Best Books of the Year 2007

Reviews

“DeFelice’s reshaping of this familiar theme is comically succinct, with an unobtrusive undercurrent of desperate poverty. U’Ren’s cartoon-style drafting is wonderfully funny and energetic, her muted palette appropriately rich in earth tones, her characterizations warmly affectionate. And how wonderful to have so fine a tale, one where greed never figures at all, and enough is as good as a feast.” – Horn Book, Sept/Oct 2006 *starred review

“DeFelice employs her considerable storytelling skills to give an old Chinese folktale an Irish twist. U’Ren’s large pen-and-gouache illustrations infuse the couple’s grim situation with humor. The two are so tall and thin that they seem to be elastic. And the scene in which skinny legs are sticking out of the pot and then pulled out is hilarious. Their walls are full of cracks, their blankets are full of holes, but their hearts are full of love and generosity. An entertaining tale that pairs well with Lily Toy Hong’s Two of Everything (Alfred Whitman, 1993.)” – School Library Journal, Sept 2006