The Pet Potato

April 25, 2022
A child who begs for a pet finally receives one, sort of, in this quirky picture book for fans of Sophie’s Squash. When Albert, portrayed with brown skin, begs his brown-skinned father and white mother for a pet, his dad finally gives him a potato. “Dad made jokes like that all time. Albert had learned to ignore them,” writes Lacey (the Dragonsitter series). Then Albert notices a forlorn face in the spud’s lumpy visage, and it opens his heart to possibility: playful, bold-hued vignettes by debut illustrator Abe portray a blossoming friendship that includes pretend play, trips to the playground and library, and shared tub time (the potato is perfectly dressed for each occasion). The potato inevitably rots, and Albert discovers that his mother has thrown it away without telling him (“I don’t want that thing in my house,” she says of the already-binned tuber). But the child insists on giving it a proper burial, eventually discovering that he can grow an entire crop of pets to keep and pass on to others. The family’s relationship may strike some as a bit emotionally distant, but Albert’s sense of agency and imagination are winning, and the happiness he cultivates is admirable. Ages 3–6.

June 1, 2022
Preschool-Grade 2 Albert longs for a pet, but his parents refuse his requests. One day, his father gives him a present, "a pet potato." It's a dad joke that leaves Albert feeling deflated, but later, he notices that the potato looks lonely and sad. Laying out his train set, Albert gives it a ride. At the park, they enjoy the playground together. At the library, he discovers his potato's fondness for pirate books. The boy and his pet become inseparable, but eventually, the "smelly, moldy" potato must go. Albert and his father bury it in the yard. At the site, a plant sprouts, flourishes, and eventually yields more pet potatoes, which Albert shares with neighbors and friends. Lacey is an English writer whose middle-grade fiction books include the Dragonsitter series; in this, his first picture book, he quietly, convincingly portrays the transformation of a root vegetable into a sentient being, surely among the most magical powers of a child's imagination. Abe's vivid illustrations convey Albert's (and his potato's) emotions with subtlety and perception. A lovable choice for reading aloud.

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