Two Old Potatoes and Me

Written by John Coy

Illustrated by Carolyn Fisher

Knopf/Dragonfly books

ISBN 978-0-440-41790-3

When a girl finds two old potatoes in the back of the cupboard, Dad has an idea. 

Together, they plant the spuds and tend them over a summer until September arrives. 

Will they really get new potatoes from old potatoes?

A Reading Rainbow Book

PRAISE

The New York Times, Bookshelf, Sunday, July 13, 2003. (Spot illustration featured)

“Backyard science and agriculture, a favorite theme, exuberantly illustrated. Instead of 

pitching those yucky old potatoes, the narrator’s father cuts them in pieces and father 

and daughter plant them, eyes up, in early spring. Month by month, as the gardeners 

watch, amazing things happen. Then comes the harvest. Wow! A bucket of spuds.”

School Library Journal, starred review, June 2003

"...Fisher’s richly detailed, highly stylized color illustrations integrate perfectly 

with the varying fonts of the text and are a standout. There’s lots of food for 

thought here, along with a recipe for mashed potatoes.”

Publisher’s Weekly, starred review, May 19, 2003

“In this sanguine gardening tale, 67 new potatoes and a warm father/daughter rapport 

grow out of two inedible spuds...Fisher hand-prints the text for a casual, crayony look, 

and her unique multimedia compositions father loamy dark browns, rich greens and denim 

blues. This well-realized story brims with affection and satisfyingly concludes with a recipe 

and a buttery bowl of mashed potatoes. Ages 5-8.”