Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato

With a last name like Capozzalo, you'd never guess that I'm 50% Irish. I grew up hearing plenty of stories about peeling potatoes for 20 people for dinner and learned plenty about the Potato Famine when studying my family's history and the plight of the Irish. I have to admit, Jamie O'Rourke's story is one I haven't heard. Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato: An Irish Folktale, isn't really a folktale at all... at least in my opinion. In class, we've defined a folktale as a story based down from generation to generation. I do not think this is such a story. This book falls into the category of a fairy tale: a magical, mystical, make believe story.

To prove my point, let me fill you in about Jamie O'Rourke and his big potato. Jamie O'Rourke is a lazy man who makes his wife do all of the hard work. When she hurts herself, Jamie needs to figure out how the family will eat. Jamie finds a leprechaun and instead of getting his pot o' gold, he gets a seed for the biggest potato in the world. The potato grows and grows, and Jamie and his wife share the potato to everyone. The townspeople get so sick of potatoes that they tell him that if he doesn't plan the potato seed ever again, he and his wife will always have enough food to eat.

Last time I checked, potatoes can't grow to be the size of a house. So, in my opinion, this book is a fairy tale.

But anyhow, why is this book worth checking out? First of all, Tommie dePaola is an Newbery and Caldecott award winner. His silly illustrations in his book are in the style of another one of my favorites, Strega Nona (with one "n" - I actually researched why, but that's a blog for a another day). Of course, you'd assume the illustrations would have to be silly, because he is illustrating a giant potato. All of the characters have pudgy, round little faces and great facial expressions, from the disdain at Jamie's laziness to the amazement at the size of the potato. These great illustrations are paired beautifully with the text, from the small square drawings to the two page spread.

This story shows that sometimes taking the easy way out isn't all it's cracked up to be and we should be careful what we wish for. Although in the end, Jamie is rewarded for his laziness, and is not foolish after all. This book could lend itself to a discussion of the rewards of hard work.

So although I wouldn't call this book a true Irish folktale, I'd definitely bring it out near St. Patrick's Day. If you really enjoy Jamie O'Rourke, you can also check him out in Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka.