The Mouse and the Potato, which is now out of print, was translated from German by Polly Lawson and was printed in Belgium in 1990 by Floris Books. This is a book about a potato, obviously and it makes for an unusual protagonist. It starts out with a little girl called Maggie deciding to plant a rather large potato with the mindset that is will produce more potatoes. A plant appears and it grows prolifically, the problem is, when it comes to harvest time the gigantic plant won't budge. Maggie's father, a farmer, tries to uproot the plant, is shortly joined by his wife, then a farmhand, a milking maid and then Maggie; all to no avail. Then it's time for canine, felines and rodents to partake in the what is now proving to be a very challenging harvest. Well, I wonder what could possibly happen? The farm horse even ends up with a job. A straightforward little plot with gentle water colour illustrations by Belgium illustrator Carla Grillis. It is certainly a beautiful addition to my children book collection.
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| The harvest |
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| Maggie |
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| The Dutch version |
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| The German version |
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