Review by _Delly_01 -- Four Funny Potatoes! by Len Foley
Posted: 17 Feb 2019, 18:02
[Following is a volunteer review of "Four Funny Potatoes!" by Len Foley.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Inspired by his niece’s claims that he is a potato, Four Funny Potatoes! is an educational children’s picture book written and illustrated by Len Foley. With strong elements of rhyming and counting, the fun begins when four potatoes wake from their bowl to put on a nightly show and introduce a wacky cast of food characters-- except the fourth potato, Benny, disrupts the show to say, “Hey! I am NOT a potato!”
Having a yellow, shiny body, instead of lumpy and brown like the other potatoes, Benny insists that he is actually a banana. However, Benny’s claims of being unique are ignored by the back-flipping grapes, singing eggs, and dancing potatoes. What will it take for Benny to convince his fellow food friends he is a banana? Find out in this comedic children’s book which ends in a surprising twist!
This read is sure to leave an impression on children as well as parents. It ticks off many boxes that parents look for in a worthwhile children’s book: it is funny, educational, and instils a moral value-- in the case of Four Funny Potatoes!, it re-enforces positive self-worth by teaching children to accept the differences of others and themselves.
“…I am one of a kind. I have my own shape, my own color, my own thoughts, my own mind. I am proud to be a banana.”
The author’s seven previous struggles to ‘write the Great American Novel’ are blessings in disguise that have led him to find his niche in children’s writing. Children’s writing is much more demanding than writing for adults. It requires limitless creativity, consideration of its audience, and intuitive critical thinking. The author displays these three traits on multiple occasions, and they are what I liked most about Four Funny Potatoes!:
Limitless creativity is displayed in Four Funny Potatoes! by engaging with a child’s imagination. An example of this is when a jelly bean tosses a watermelon into the air. The extreme contrast of size and weight between these two very different foods provokes thought, providing a gateway to outlandish and satisfying creativity. Even in adults.
Four Funny Potatoes! displays consideration of its younger audience by employing rhyming and counting, and is further shown through the positive message of acceptance. It is the author’s quirky humour that brings life and sheds the mundanity of these things, and can make even the most composed adults smile.
And finally, Four Funny Potatoes! displays intuitive critical thinking by exercising a child’s own logic in a fun and creative way. The first example where this occurs is when Benny is called a yellow zucchini. Children would make natural comparisons and juxtapositions between the images of the yellow zucchini and the banana, and come to the conclusion they aren’t the same thing before the narrator would confirm it. The second example is where the tomato tells the doughnut it doesn’t need legs to travel, because it can roll. Children would compare the roundness of the thinner doughnut and the spherical tomato, and conclude that the doughnut would have more difficulty rolling, but would still manage. This exercises childrens’ logic, and embraces their imagination in a comedic way, since no food can get up and walk in real life, let alone roll themselves around.
What I didn’t like about Four Funny Potatoes! was the proportion or formatting of the text and illustrations. Sometimes the images felt squeezed together to emphasise a rhyme, felt haphazardly placed with too much white space, or the small lines that were used to link characters with their dialogues were too small. Since the age group of this picture book is for children between three and seven, I feel there needs to be consideration that a child will look at the first thing that pops up in their face—usually a big image—and not look for a small, thin line to show who is speaking. It might be a bit confusing without a parent to guide them. On the same wave, the quotation marks need to be considered based on children’s reading experience. A single character’s dialogue is divided into two paragraphs to demonstrate a dramatic pause between speaking, with two sets of quotation marks to represent the beginning or resuming of talking, and a third to end character dialogue:
“One potato, two potato, three potato... FOUR!
“We’re the funny potatoes who could ask for more?”
It feels a bit advanced for a younger reader to understand it is a single character talking and not two, especially when considering the placement of the illustrations on that particular page.
I also feel the images of a pickle, avocado, eggplant, and raspberry need more consideration. They are shown, but have no introduction to reveal what foods they are. If there was an introduction, or if only two particular fruit groups were dealt with in this picture book, I feel it would have made for a more cohesive read, instead of leaving potential questions unanswered.
Regardless of its downsides, I enjoyed reading this book for the author's own ability, and found myself chuckling when their quirky humour shone through. I rate this children’s picture book two out of four stars, because it is quirky and funny, has a strong moral value, and provokes thought. But the disorganisation of the text and illustration, the images of foods that raise unanswered questions, and the advanced use of quotation marks for dialogue indicate it isn’t quite suited for a three-star rating. Especially when factoring in how Four Funny Potatoes! is marketed for children between three and seven. The content feels too boring for a seven-year-old, and the dialogue tags feel too complex for a three-year-old. There are no typographical or grammatical errors.
******
Four Funny Potatoes!
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Inspired by his niece’s claims that he is a potato, Four Funny Potatoes! is an educational children’s picture book written and illustrated by Len Foley. With strong elements of rhyming and counting, the fun begins when four potatoes wake from their bowl to put on a nightly show and introduce a wacky cast of food characters-- except the fourth potato, Benny, disrupts the show to say, “Hey! I am NOT a potato!”
Having a yellow, shiny body, instead of lumpy and brown like the other potatoes, Benny insists that he is actually a banana. However, Benny’s claims of being unique are ignored by the back-flipping grapes, singing eggs, and dancing potatoes. What will it take for Benny to convince his fellow food friends he is a banana? Find out in this comedic children’s book which ends in a surprising twist!
This read is sure to leave an impression on children as well as parents. It ticks off many boxes that parents look for in a worthwhile children’s book: it is funny, educational, and instils a moral value-- in the case of Four Funny Potatoes!, it re-enforces positive self-worth by teaching children to accept the differences of others and themselves.
“…I am one of a kind. I have my own shape, my own color, my own thoughts, my own mind. I am proud to be a banana.”
The author’s seven previous struggles to ‘write the Great American Novel’ are blessings in disguise that have led him to find his niche in children’s writing. Children’s writing is much more demanding than writing for adults. It requires limitless creativity, consideration of its audience, and intuitive critical thinking. The author displays these three traits on multiple occasions, and they are what I liked most about Four Funny Potatoes!:
Limitless creativity is displayed in Four Funny Potatoes! by engaging with a child’s imagination. An example of this is when a jelly bean tosses a watermelon into the air. The extreme contrast of size and weight between these two very different foods provokes thought, providing a gateway to outlandish and satisfying creativity. Even in adults.
Four Funny Potatoes! displays consideration of its younger audience by employing rhyming and counting, and is further shown through the positive message of acceptance. It is the author’s quirky humour that brings life and sheds the mundanity of these things, and can make even the most composed adults smile.
And finally, Four Funny Potatoes! displays intuitive critical thinking by exercising a child’s own logic in a fun and creative way. The first example where this occurs is when Benny is called a yellow zucchini. Children would make natural comparisons and juxtapositions between the images of the yellow zucchini and the banana, and come to the conclusion they aren’t the same thing before the narrator would confirm it. The second example is where the tomato tells the doughnut it doesn’t need legs to travel, because it can roll. Children would compare the roundness of the thinner doughnut and the spherical tomato, and conclude that the doughnut would have more difficulty rolling, but would still manage. This exercises childrens’ logic, and embraces their imagination in a comedic way, since no food can get up and walk in real life, let alone roll themselves around.
What I didn’t like about Four Funny Potatoes! was the proportion or formatting of the text and illustrations. Sometimes the images felt squeezed together to emphasise a rhyme, felt haphazardly placed with too much white space, or the small lines that were used to link characters with their dialogues were too small. Since the age group of this picture book is for children between three and seven, I feel there needs to be consideration that a child will look at the first thing that pops up in their face—usually a big image—and not look for a small, thin line to show who is speaking. It might be a bit confusing without a parent to guide them. On the same wave, the quotation marks need to be considered based on children’s reading experience. A single character’s dialogue is divided into two paragraphs to demonstrate a dramatic pause between speaking, with two sets of quotation marks to represent the beginning or resuming of talking, and a third to end character dialogue:
“One potato, two potato, three potato... FOUR!
“We’re the funny potatoes who could ask for more?”
It feels a bit advanced for a younger reader to understand it is a single character talking and not two, especially when considering the placement of the illustrations on that particular page.
I also feel the images of a pickle, avocado, eggplant, and raspberry need more consideration. They are shown, but have no introduction to reveal what foods they are. If there was an introduction, or if only two particular fruit groups were dealt with in this picture book, I feel it would have made for a more cohesive read, instead of leaving potential questions unanswered.
Regardless of its downsides, I enjoyed reading this book for the author's own ability, and found myself chuckling when their quirky humour shone through. I rate this children’s picture book two out of four stars, because it is quirky and funny, has a strong moral value, and provokes thought. But the disorganisation of the text and illustration, the images of foods that raise unanswered questions, and the advanced use of quotation marks for dialogue indicate it isn’t quite suited for a three-star rating. Especially when factoring in how Four Funny Potatoes! is marketed for children between three and seven. The content feels too boring for a seven-year-old, and the dialogue tags feel too complex for a three-year-old. There are no typographical or grammatical errors.
******
Four Funny Potatoes!
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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