The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up–emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
— “ target=”_blank”>The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up–emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
—
I've never claimed to have an exhaustive knowledge of Ellen Raskin novels, yet I was surprised to find a passing reference to this one last fall. So I grabbed it up and jumped into it with relish. It's been since I was in MG that I've read other works by her that aren't The Westing Game, so I can't say for certain if this is her usual kind of thing or not (I think this is closer to her norm than Westing, though). There's an over-reliance on funny names (frequently some sort of wordplay involving food) and outlandish eccentricities as a source of humor, but that's a minor thing.

This is really 3-4 short stories linked together with an overarching narrative to make a novel—which actually works pretty well. The pair have a few smaller mysteries to solve while a bigger one builds. This reads like a collaboration of Donald J. Sobol and Daniel M. Pinkwater—which absolutely would've been up my alley when I was the right age, and is still amusing enough right now for me to enjoy the quick read.

Is it my favorite thing ever? No. But it's a clever read that's entertaining enough.

This is a little more mature than usual for MG books (especially given its publish date, I'd think), but it's not mature enough for YA. Not that it matters, that's just me trying to categorize it. I think it's probably appropriate for MG readers, though (there's one scene that might push it over the edge, but...I'd risk it).

A volunteer at my school told me about this book, her favorite from childhood, in hopes I could help her come up with its name. Melissa at BAW knew it, I shared it with the volunteer, and life was sweet. What a delight it was to receive this book from Melissa as my un-birthday gift! This was such a great read that I was left feeling bewildered: Why do so many fantastic children's books go out of print?