The Potato King
Author: Christoph Niemann
Illustrator: Christoph Niemann
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade Level: Pre-K to 3rd grade
The story takes place in Prussia where there lived a King whose name was Fritz. He introduced potato to his people who had never heard nor even seen one. For the people, it was just an odd thing and did not really knew how to cook and eat them. So, the people completely ignored King Fritz, and this made him upset. So, he ordered his soldiers to guard the potato garden and not let any civilians anywhere near the potatoes. This intrigued the people. If there are guards guarding the potatoes, then it must be something good. So, the people started stealing the potatoes from the potato field and started growing their own. And that is how the potatoes became one of the most popular vegetables in the world!
The book is filled with an illustration rather than words. The sentences in this book are not that long which will be easy for younger children to read. The illustrations are simple and funky. It looks like the illustrator carved the potato and made a stamp out of it (proven at the back of the cover!) I like how he used actual potato within the illustration whenever there is a mention of potato (which are most of the pages). The endpapers too have an illustration which looks like a potato field made from potato stamp!
Thoughts:
What would life be if there were no potatoes in our lives? I know my life would be pretty sad since I rely so heavily on potatoes whenever I am stressed. The book is simple and that’s the great thing about it. The brief history is always the best part about historical fiction. Although at the end of the story it says it might be a myth, I like to believe that this story was true. People love being included in an exclusive club. And King Fritz turning a potato into an exclusive vegetable made people want to eat that exclusive vegetable. And what do you know, now it is one of the most harvested food in the world! Clever King Fritz. This would be a terrific book to read aloud to students implying a message that if you never try, you never know what you are missing! A Great book indeed!
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