A potato is informally welcomed (by all but Mr Russet) as the newest member of the family, having appeared on the family’s couch under circumstances unknown.

Mr Russet’s petulant attitude throughout the book was something I couldn’t come to terms with and his angsty brooding was off-putting. Rather than act like an adult and ask someone to throw out or put the potato where it belongs, he watches his family play with it, dress it, and even watched the dog use it as a ball. Kerry Lyn Sparrow’s writing mixes up the typical family stereotype a bit, sending Mrs Russet to work while Mr Russet stays home, cooks, and cleans.

Not only does Mr Russett refuse to take care of the potato, he lets its presence stress him to the point of allowing the rest of the living room to become a disaster zone. None of the other family members seem to mind walking around shoes or toys, finding a toothbrush and an umbrella in the couch, or care that there aren’t and clean coffee mugs. More than a week passes before Mr Russett decides he can’t take it with the potato anymore. He cleans and then cooks a meal of hamburgers, tacos, noodles, and fries. And we’re led to assume that Mrs Russet, Reid, and Violet have lost their appetites because Mr Russet has cooked up some deep-fried revenge? The family didn’t even know he was begrudging their sweet potato.

I just wasn’t on board with this story. There is no family communication whatsoever. Future messes are sure to present themselves because Mr Russet couldn’t bring himself to ask his family to help clean their messes. The illustrations by Yinfan Huang didn’t draw me in. Other than straighter lines and a touch more depth, they had a distinctly childish look about them, a style that doesn’t appeal to me. (If it’s actually a child’s artwork, that’s another thing altogether.) Frisky, the family dog, was my favorite character, and really the only character I liked. I reread it a couple more times, attempting to like it as a fun silly book, one without a lesson or a moral, but Mr Russet’s attitude uprooted that possibility.


Thanks to Kids Can Press and NetGalley for the provided e-ARC and the opportunity to read this book. My review is honest, unbiased, and voluntary. #NetGalley #TheCouchPotato

A decent enough picture book, but nowhere near classic status. It takes the phrase a lot of youngsters will have heard of, "a couch potato", and makes it not only literal but the title 'character' of the book. How the spud got on the sofa we never learn, but all the kids, the wife and the dog interact with it, while the father of the house refuses to pick it or anything else up. It's got a levity about it, and it looks fine, but I'm not too convinced there's a great story or moral behind it. It acts almost more like some observational comedy, for it boils down to a saute discussion of how you might only mash – sorry, MISS – things when they're gone. I was sur-fried it didn't have a bit more about it, for if it did I'd have said the 'eyes' have it.

I'll get my jacket.

***Thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
I laughed out loud at this story! When a rogue potato is found on the couch, the Russet family respond in different ways, ultimately concluding with the death of the potato. I feel like this could easily be the description of a horror/thriller movie (if you change a few words), and I absolutely loved it! So funny and quirky!

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher.

This book genuinely made me laugh. A stubborn man is nearly driven to insanity as a literal COUCH POTATO thrives in his living room, among the mess and disorder of his family members. He refuses to pick it up... even when it seems to be taunting him in various ways and superseding his authority as a father. No joke, this happens in the book. I won't spoil the ending (though, I wonder if the POTATO was spoiled) but the father gets a bit of satisfying revenge on the tyrannical tuber that has been the root of his mental and physical deterioration.

Ouch. This book is so unfunny, it's bordering on offensive. It manages to make homemakers look like entitled divas, men like stubborn babies, and women like clueless idiots.

Part of the problem is that the author tried to reverse the gender roles, probably so that there wouldn't be any problems with sexism or whatnot. Unfortunately, it backfired. All the old offensive stereotypes are still there; it's just the other gender doing the action. Mrs. Russet comes home after work and reads the newspaper, finds what she thinks is a toy (it's actually the potato), and chucks it across the room with no regard for the state of any breakables in the vicinity. Mr. Russet claims he cleans up every day, but then gets his nose out of joint when he finds a potato, and instead of just picking it up, he basically goes on strike, letting the house fall into complete disarray, and holes up in the bathroom with a relaxing cup of coffee. (Can you imagine how fast this book would be called out if the roles had been reversed?)

As if all that isn't bad enough, Mr. Russet eventually makes French fries with the potato. What's wrong with that? Oh, nothing... except for the fact that it's been floating around the house for days, getting filthy. At one point, the dog even used it as a chew toy. I shudder to think of the bacteria that was in those fries. (Not that it really mattered. The rest of the family, weirdly, refused to eat their "friend" the potato, leaving all the pathogenic fries for Mr. Russet. He's welcome to them, as far as I'm concerned.)

The illustrations here are really not to my liking. The style is... well, I guess you could call it "elementary-school realism" or something. A lot of the pictures reminded me of things my friends and I used to draw as children. (I know it takes more skill than that to illustrate a picture book in this style and have it look consistent. I just don't personally like the style.)

I'm afraid this book is a miss for me. The stereotypes made me too uncomfortable and the pictures weren't to my taste.

What a cute story. Mr Russett grew tired of picking up after everyone when a potato mysteriously appeared on the couch. After a few weeks he took matters into his own hands and made the potato disappear, to his family’s dismay.

This story was silly. I related to Mr Russett as well as the rest of the Russett family. Depending on the day I may be protesting the potato and the next I may be dressing it up as well. That little potato face was adorable.

Great illustrations and a twist ending that made me gasp and laugh.