Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. Retold and illustrated by dePaola, this Irish folktale concerns a notoriously lazy fellow, Jamie O'Rourke, who catches a leprechaun and takes as his prize a special seed. Planted, it soon sprouts and produces a potato as big as Jamie's cottage. When the villagers help him dig it out of the ground, it rolls down the hill and blocks the roadway. They all chop it into pieces for their winter food supply and promise Jamie that they'll provide all his food in the future, if he'll promise never again to plant a giant potato seed. Illustrated in dePaola's signature style, this has an inviting look. Buoyant watercolors are framed by thin orange borders, but the potato simply can't be contained and bulges beyond the boundaries, graphic proof of its enormous size. An engaging read-aloud choice for Saint Patrick's Day. ~--Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This inspired Irish folktale clearly illustrates that taking the easy way out of a situation is sometimes more trouble than it's worth. Potato farmer Jamie O'Rourke, ``the laziest man in all of Ireland,'' is unfortunately not the brightest of men either. The prospect of a harsh and foodless winter, due to meager crops, and the ceaseless nagging of his hardworking wife impel Jamie to the church to pray for help. As Irish luck would have it, Jamie happens upon and captures a leprechaun who cunningly offers magic potato seeds instead of the traditional pot of gold. The resulting colossal spud feeds the O'Rourkes and the other villagers far longer than anyone could have imagined. Although the comical tone works well here, readers may be surprised that Jamie is rewarded for being lazy. Thatched-roof cottages, stone hedges and sheep dot the green landscape, depicting rustic life on the Emerald Isle. DePaola's distinctive homespun style and genial gentry round, child like faces add plenty of zip to this silly story. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3 --dePaola's new picture book pays tribute to the other side of his heritage: the Irish. Adapted from an unspecified folktale, the story follows the adventures of Jamie O'Rourke, ``the laziest man in all of Ireland,'' and his long-suffering wife, Eileen. When Eileen's bad back prevents her from harvesting the potato crop, Jamie is convinced that he's in imminent danger of starvation. He hurries off to church, eager to make his confession before the inevitable end, but along the way he stumbles upon a leprechaun. Overjoyed by his good luck, Jamie accepts a magical potato seed in place of the customary pot of gold. Despite this unorthodox gift, he finds that his fortunes have been made by the encounter--in a roundabout and humorous sort of way. The text has traditional folklore conventions: exaggerated, yet flat, characters; a tricky plot; and, of course, a happy ending. dePaola's illustrations are attractive as always, although their static look is sometimes at odds with the tall-tale flavor of the narrative. However, variations in the placement of text and pictures, as well as varying sizes of illustrations, help to create additional interest. --Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Jamie O'Rourke, the laziest man in Ireland, must figure out a way to gather food for the winter when his hard-working wife, Eileen, takes to bed with a bad back. His consequent adventure and the outcome make for a humorous story. An abundance of colorful, folksy illustrations enhances the text. From HORN BOOK 1992, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Lazy Jamie O'Rourke doesn't lift a finger, even after his wife hurts her back digging the ``praties'' they depend on; but he does catch a leprechaun, who gives him a seed that grows into a potato so large that it takes the combined efforts of the village to dig it and, subsequently, to eat it--``until no one wanted to see or hear of potato again.'' DePaola's ``Note About the Story'' tells more of his own family history than of ``the short tale that inspired'' this one, which is totally unsourced; presumably, it predates the tragedy of the Potato Famine. Anyway, as retold here, it makes a cheery picture book, with the artist using the lighter, brighter side of his palette and including some affectionate caricatures of the Irish in his decorative illustrations. Attractive and amusing. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
