Big Bob and the Thanksgiving Potatoes

Big Bob

by Daniel Pinkwater, Jill Pinkwater (Illustrator)

Sometimes life can be hard when you are big, but Big Bob has found a great friend in Big Rita, who is a vegetarian just like him and also loves potatoes--especially for Thanksgiving! Original.

Genres: Thanksgiving

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Daniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. Pinkwater has also illustrated many of his books in the past, although for more recent works that task has passed to his wife Jill Pinkwater.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Bob is big for a second-grader. Life is sometimes tough, and he finds it hard to make friends. Until one day, a few weeks before Thanksgiving, his teacher tells the class they are going to make Thanksgiving turkeys. Big Bob makes a decision that makes all the other kids laugh and respect him! This is a cute book and the plot is totally true to what a second-grader might do - fib about something dumb so they get to do something different from the crowd.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it's good to go back and read something older. I can see teacher's using this guided reader and letting kids make thanksgiving potatoes for fun.

[Elizabeth Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big Bob broke my heart. I felt for Bob when the school kids laughed at his size, and the only place he wanted to be was home, because his family was also large. Even though this book is meant to be a comedy, it also has many topics to talk about with your children.
I felt relieved when "Big" Bob met another friend. The friend, Gloria happens to be large, and also a girl. The school kids again laugh at Big Bob for having a friend that was the opposite gender. Again, even though the book is meant to be a comedy, there are many valuable life lessons here.
Finally, Big Bob lets his real personality shine through in class, and pretends to be a vegetarian and will not make the class turkey craft. Instead Bob makes a Thanksgiving potato. The class is inspired by Bob's activism, that they too make Thanksgiving potatoes, not knowing he is only goofing off.
At the end of the story, I wanted to make a Thanksgiving potato, too!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why was this lowkey funny? Go off Big Bob

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a light hearted book.