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Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes
A poor family eats potatoes each day of the week except on Saturday when they eat their special potato pudding. Recipe is included.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Library Binding
First published May 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 18, 2026
The illustrations are lovely, but there is literally no story here. It simply goes through the days of the week as the family eats potatoes every single day.
July 5, 2017
The opening pages of Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes have a nesting doll format, zooming in on a country, a town, a street, a house, and then inside the house, where we are introduced to a poor potato farming family who only have potatoes to eat. The setting feels historical and Eastern European.
After we meet the family, we are given a series of two-page spreads showing the family dinner each day of the week. The text for these are simple: "On Sunday, they ate potatoes", "Monday, they ate potatoes", "Tuesday, potatoes", and so on. This is ideal for fill-in practice, and my kids love saying "Potatoes!"
As the week progresses, the family looks increasingly unhappy. But then, on Saturday, the mom makes a special dish: potato pudding. (With a recipe in the back if you are into it!) This is a joyful, celebratory page, and the family, right down to the cat, is thrilled to dig in.
Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes shows poverty in a very simple, age-appropriate way, centering the conflict on lack of food choice, something most children understand, but that kids with sensory issues, like so many with autism, may relate to in a special way. The complexity of the joy the family gets from their special potato dish is probably lost on my kids right now, but I'm hoping they will come to understand it better.
The illustrations, linoleum cuts, according to a Kirkus review, are bright and evocative. Since the special meal is on a Saturday, I believe the family is meant to be Jewish. This difference is handy since almost all days of the week books favor a Monday to Sunday sequence (and often have Christian overtones in their Sunday emphasis). Kids need to learn that the sequence of days can begin at any point, and I appreciate the variation.
Another great use for this book is in tacting emotions. The family begins the week on Sunday with neutral expressions, but progressively look more and more sad, and then even angry by Friday. Saturday's happiness is a stark contrast of happy, joyful faces. I am trying to pair tacting emotions with inferring the reason for these emotions. For now, I am modeling the language around this, since my kids aren't ready to make this leap. "Why are they sad? Because dinner is potatoes AGAIN!" Etc.
Sadly, this book is out of print. However, I was easily able to buy an inexpensive used copy online.
After we meet the family, we are given a series of two-page spreads showing the family dinner each day of the week. The text for these are simple: "On Sunday, they ate potatoes", "Monday, they ate potatoes", "Tuesday, potatoes", and so on. This is ideal for fill-in practice, and my kids love saying "Potatoes!"
As the week progresses, the family looks increasingly unhappy. But then, on Saturday, the mom makes a special dish: potato pudding. (With a recipe in the back if you are into it!) This is a joyful, celebratory page, and the family, right down to the cat, is thrilled to dig in.
Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes shows poverty in a very simple, age-appropriate way, centering the conflict on lack of food choice, something most children understand, but that kids with sensory issues, like so many with autism, may relate to in a special way. The complexity of the joy the family gets from their special potato dish is probably lost on my kids right now, but I'm hoping they will come to understand it better.
The illustrations, linoleum cuts, according to a Kirkus review, are bright and evocative. Since the special meal is on a Saturday, I believe the family is meant to be Jewish. This difference is handy since almost all days of the week books favor a Monday to Sunday sequence (and often have Christian overtones in their Sunday emphasis). Kids need to learn that the sequence of days can begin at any point, and I appreciate the variation.
Another great use for this book is in tacting emotions. The family begins the week on Sunday with neutral expressions, but progressively look more and more sad, and then even angry by Friday. Saturday's happiness is a stark contrast of happy, joyful faces. I am trying to pair tacting emotions with inferring the reason for these emotions. For now, I am modeling the language around this, since my kids aren't ready to make this leap. "Why are they sad? Because dinner is potatoes AGAIN!" Etc.
Sadly, this book is out of print. However, I was easily able to buy an inexpensive used copy online.
September 13, 2020
Beautifully illustrated book that teaches children to appreciate what they have. Also helps little ones learn days of the week.
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December 16, 2010Bloom and Grow - unit 2
Leveled Books - Lexile: BR
Leveled Books - Lexile: BR
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews