Grandma Lena's Big Ol' Turnip

by Denia Lewis Hester, Jackie Urbanovic (Illustrator)

Overview

2007-2008 Show Me Readers Award preliminary list (Missouri)
2005 Aesop Accolade, American Folklore Society

Grandma Lena believes that something worth doing is worth doing right. So she takes good care of the turnips she plants in her garden. One turnip grows to an enormous size—Baby Pearl thinks it's a big potato! It is big enough to feed half the town. And it's so big that Grandma can’t pull it out of the ground! Even when Grandpa, Uncle Izzy, Aunt Netty, and the dog help Grandma yank and tug, the big ol’ turnip doesn’t budge. Still, this African-American family, including Baby Pearl, knows how to pull together.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807530238
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	01/01/2005
Series:	Albert Whitman Prairie Paperback Ser.
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.75(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.11(d)
Lexile:	AD610L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Denia Lewis Hester loves turnips (among other veggies). When she is not reading or writing, she enjoys all kinds of movies, especially science fiction. She is a graduate of Columbia College, Chicago, and Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois. Denia has reviewed children's books for the Chicago Sun-Times and the American Library Association.

Editorial Reviews

2007-2008 Show Me Readers Award preliminary list (Missouri)
2005 Aesop Accolade, American Folklore Society

"Well written, charmingly illustrated, and with a new ethnic twist, this book is a first choice for libraries and an essential addition to collections of folktale variations. A great read-aloud, it also makes a natural introduction to units on seeds and growing, or gardening. Also, don't overlook the opportunities to discuss themes of cooperation, generosity, and community."—School Library Journal

"This 'aw-shucks' rendition of the oft-retold 'Giant Turnip' tale features a contemporary African-American extended family whose diaper-clad junior member exclaims 'Uh-oh! Faw down!' when the huge turnip in Grandma's garden finally pops out, sending the line of pullers tumbling…Less formal in tone that versions closer to the Russian story generally ascribed to Tolstoy, and unique for its non-rural trappings, this is tellable enough to please young audiences."—Kirkus Reviews

"This story, part familiar folktale, part soul-food celebration, is a vibrant way for children to follow a fairly complex series of events…Big, boisterously colored illustrations fit this book's big turnip and big heart."—Booklist

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 2-Adapted from Aleksey Tolstoy's "The Turnip," this tale about teamwork and sharing in an extended African-American family is bubbling with warmth and Southern-style cooking. When Grandma Lena is ready to pick her gargantuan vegetable, it will not budge. One by one, she enlists the help of her relatives, but it is only when Baby Pearl pitches in that the turnip is harvested, and then lovingly made into a soul-food feast for the neighborhood. Urbanovic's humorous watercolors are highlighted with charcoal detailing. The characters are delightful and each one has a great deal of individual expression and personality. Background details give a strong sense of setting. The illustrations of the growing vegetable take on outlandish proportions that readers will find funny and satisfying. The artist's use of perspective further enhances this rollicking story. Well written, charmingly illustrated, and with a new ethnic twist, this book is a first choice for libraries and an essential addition to collections of folktale variations. A great read-aloud, it also makes a natural introduction to units on seeds and growing, or gardening. Also, don't overlook the opportunities to discuss themes of cooperation, generosity, and community.-Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This "aw-shucks" rendition of the oft-retold "Giant Turnip" tale features a contemporary African-American extended family whose diaper-clad junior member exclaims "Uh-oh! Faw down!" when the huge turnip in Grandma's garden finally pops out, sending the line of pullers tumbling. Hester also takes the story further than usual by having Grandma Lena, depicted in Urbanovic's relaxed suburban scenes as a hefty matron with square eyeglasses and a wide smile, spending that night whipping up plenty of turnip stew, greens and corn bread for the rainbow coalition of neighbors who show up for next day's hole-filling-in party. Less formal in tone than versions closer to the Russian story generally ascribed to Tolstoy, and unique for its non-rural trappings, this is tellable enough to please young audiences-though the characters seem rather broadly rendered. (source note) (Picture book folktale. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews