The Couch Potato

by Kerry Lyn Sparrow, Yinfan Huang

Overview

A funny family story that turns the meaning of “couch potato” on its head. Mr. Russet is the first to spot it. A potato. Right in the middle of the couch. He’s had enough. “Every day I pick up this, I pick up that, I pick up everything!” he exclaims. “I will not pick up that potato!” And he doesn’t. In fact, he won’t pick up anything else either! But as the days pass, the rest of the family don’t seem to mind the potato in the living room. Or the growing mess. What’s a potato protestor to do? A cautionary tale that kids will devour whole!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525303760
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	78 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Kerry Lyn Sparrow is an elementary school teacher and the author of the picture book Sleep, Sheep! Kerry lives on a farm in Antrim, Ontario, with her husband, their two sons and their dog, Lily.;Yinfan Huang lives in New York City, where she creates editorial illustrations, pens her own comics and crafts handmade ceramics. The Couch Potato is her first English-language picture book.

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2019

It’s not clear what an actual potato is doing on the Russet family’s living room sofa, but that’s all it takes to send Mr. Russet, who is responsible for the housekeeping, over the edge. Fed up with tidying, he resolves that “he was not going to pick up that potato, and he was not going to pick up anything else either!” Unfortunately, the rest of the family does not rise to the occasion: Violet dresses the potato in a tiny pink tutu and a too-big baseball cap, and Mrs. Russet eventually cedes “a whole cushion” to it, squishing together with the kids at the sofa’s other end. With Mr. Russet self-sequestered in “potato-free rooms,” domestic hygiene soon teeters at the tipping point. Will no one rid the household of this troublesome tuber? The colored pencil, gouache, and watercolor images have a naïf look of on-the-spot sketches, and they’re a fine match for the deadpan narration. Sparrow (Sleep, Sheep!) and debuting Huang cleverly and inventively reaffirm a universal family truth: never underestimate how a little annoyance can quickly escalate into a laughably big deal. Ages 3–7. Illustrator’s agent: Sean McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Literary Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Sparrow ... and debuting Huang cleverly and inventively reaffirm a universal family truth: never underestimate how a little annoyance can quickly escalate into a laughably big deal.—Publishers Weekly

Written in deadpan humour, The Couch Potato is a hilarious look at family life that everyone can relate to.—CM Magazine

... fun ...—ABQLA

From the Publisher

2019-06-16
Stay-at-home dad Mr. Russet is displeased by the appearance of a literal couch potato in his home, not to mention his family's response to it.

After seeing his children off to school and his wife to work, the apron-clad, fussy Mr. Russet discovers a potato on the living room couch. Annoyed at whomever left it there, amid other untidiness, he decides to leave it be. But when his family returns, their lack of conscientiousness appalls him. Son Reid pretends it's a boulder before forgetting about it; Mrs. Russet thinks it's a ball and tosses it to the dog; daughter Violet dresses it up as though it were a doll; all three ignore it as they crowd onto the couch to watch TV. During his "potato protest," Mr. Russet lets the house go into totally disarray and also neglects his own self-care. When he finally snaps, nine days later, and cleans up, Mr. Russet serves his family a big dinner, including a plate of French fries. His family is dismayed, but precisely why is unclear since they seemed more oblivious to the potato than affectionate. Mr. Russet, however, eats the fries with relish—and not the kind made of pickles. Huang's illustrations, done in colored pencils, gouache, and watercolor, have a flat-planed, childlike look that displays the increasing clutter in amusing detail. The family presents white.

Salty but not wholly satisfying. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews