Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

2002 Sibert Medal Winner

In 1845, a disaster struck Ireland. Overnight, a mysterious blight attacked the potato crops, turning the potatoes black and destroying the only real food of nearly six million people.

Over the next five years, the blight attacked again and again. These years are known today as the Great Irish Famine, a time when one million people died from starvation and disease and two million more fled their homeland.
Black Potatoes is the compelling story of men, women, and children who defied landlords and searched empty fields for scraps of harvested vegetables and edible weeds to eat, who walked several miles each day to hard-labor jobs for meager wages and to reach soup kitchens, and who committed crimes just to be sent to jail, where they were assured of a meal. It’s the story of children and adults who suffered from starvation, disease, and the loss of family and friends, as well as those who died. Illustrated with black and white engravings, it’s also the story of the heroes among the Irish people and how they held on to hope.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland, Historical, Irish Literature, Childrens, Juvenile

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2001

About the author

Susan Campbell Bartoletti is an American writer of children's literature. She was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but eventually the family ended up in a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. Susan started as an English teacher and inspired many students before deciding to pursue writing in earnest. She sold her first short story in 1989. Three years later in 1992 she published her first picture book, Silver at Night. She held a rigid routine, awaking early in the morning in order to write before she left to teach. In 1997 she turned to writing full time. Susan has since returned to inspiring future writers. She teaches writing classes at a number of MA and MFA programs, among them Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, and Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. Additionally she leads workshops offered through the Highlights Foundation.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think i am finally becoming an adult through reading children's books. first: this book is pretty good—it's much more complicated than i had anticipated, being a children's book. i have read children's nonfiction never, not even as a child, and i was pretty impressed—the vocabulary is not oversimplified and the ugly bits aren't avoided, either. but this makes me realize that i'm less familiar with history than a ten-year-old. i mean, obviously i knew about the potato famine and the starvation and emigration, but i didn't know about the evictions and the disease and the attempts at fixing things that went horribly wrong all on top of the starvation. i have always liked the idea of laissez faire, (and not only because it is french and therefore sexy), even though it is such an adolescent concept, really. but i never think about the dark side of it. like—what if the one crop you are growing fails you. and then you starve. and no one will help you. (except the choctaw nation, still reeling from their own near-extinction, sending money, which is so sweetly heartbreaking) so i am growing out of the casual appreciation of it. and i'm struggling here, because rent has gone up, and subway fare has gone up, and my tuition has gone up, and my pizza place raised their prices (and i need my caesar chicken pie) and i'm not getting overtime anymore, but you know what?? at least i don't rely on one crop to feed me. at least i don't have dysentery. this book made me feel like a whiny little baby because last night i was disappointed that the salad bar i like to go to put raisins in the salad instead of the dried cranberries i prefer. ugh, i am so spoiled. but this book is very well-researched, and shows the whole situation, and represents all sides of the issue, like why the wave of irish immigrants made the americans apprehensive. it's not an apology for it, but its an explanation. i have no idea what age this is intended for, but it's got people dying on the beach in their own waste and drowning at sea and starving in their houses, so i would guess the older the better. say, 31.

come to my blog!

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful Book

This was truly and eye opening book.

Very fast paced coverage that just doesn’t let up.

The author did a commendable job It is very well referenced, well written and incredibly informative. She did a remarkable job of aligning context of the history between Ireland and Britain. She smartly covered the human side of the horrible predicament. She leaves no question as to the culprit and the reasons, and the failure of solutions to resolve the crisis.

My family came to America because of the Irish potato famine. So, this story was close to my heart.

I recommend.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice presentation of the potato famine, much more interesting to read than the Irish history book I was forced to read in an Irish literature class in college. Actually I didn't know much of the facts from this book, which is making me realize (like Karen has said in her reviews), that these children books are letting me know how ignorant I am on quite a few topics.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this made me feel for the Irish people and wish that I could help them - even though this happened all those years ago! What I hadn't realized before reading this book is that there WAS food there! How horrible for so many people to starve to death while food and animals are being shipped away from Ireland over to England! Food was also available to purchase right there in Ireland, but the people couldn't afford it. Many people, organizations, and even countries helped the Irish during the years of the Great Famine, but still TOO MANY people died of starvation and disease. Just sad.

Susan Campbell Bartoletti does a great job of presenting the facts simply yet vividly. She used a wide variety of resources, which she lists in a bibliography at the end. This definitely deserves its Sibert Medal!

[Kevin Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on the famine. The book interviews relatives of those who underwent the famine in Ireland. Also does research on autobiographies of famine victims. Good read.

[Chris Hetu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason I picked the book Black Potatoes is because I never really knew the story of the potato famine, just barley touched upon it in history class. The book jumped out to me, I love reading about historical happenings and this is a major reason why I decided to read this book. What I liked best about this book is how it talked about all these different people in the story and portrayed what the experience of the potato famine was like for people. It showed how the Irish truly determined on this crop and its was interesting to see how it fell apart throughout the country. What I didn't like about the book was really nothing. I rated this book five stars overall I couldn't stop reading, it was so engaging and kept me interested the whole time, I love history and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves history or just wants to read a good book. In another review Emma wrote, "Black Potatoes touches upon the obvious: the importance of the potato to Ireland, what caused the potatoes to turn black (a disgusting fungus that flourished in an unusually rainy planting season), and what happened when the potatoes failed." This is very true that book definitely based upon is this. THE IRISH DEPENDED ON POTATOES FOR EVERY MEAL OF THE DAY! It showed how the whole country nearly tore itself apart for 3 straight years in a row and how despite the relief efforts, this problem was almost unsolvable. The book was really one of the best history texts I ever read.

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the collection of stories that combined explain what life was really like during the Irish Potato famine. the stories are short, and they don't follow a single character, yet we are still able to leave with the sense that we understand the complexities and trials that all were founded within this difficult time. I came into the book thinking that it was just a time that potatoes were not able to grow. What I didn't understand was that it was a cycle that was killing people and ruining families as well as whole communities and ultimately the entire country struggled to stay alive. The narrative was able to be pushed forward with illustrations that provoked just as much emotion as the stories themselves. I think that this book and many others like it are the best way for youth and adults to be introduced to historical times that perhaps we don't always get to become familiar with. I know that after reading it I wanted to look up different stories that were within. I was able to see the different religious views that came out of the tragedy, as well as how the politics hurt and helped the people during this struggle. This made me want to study the time further and I have become more educated on a critical time in history.

[Dawn Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bartoletti is a gifted historian/writer who humanizes historical events that history books only mention in passing. This book has lovely period illustrations and heart-rending tales of the five-year Irish famine which killed a million people and sent two million more emigrating to America. The stories here of workhouses, evictions, people living in ditches and begging on the streets is heart rending. It's also interesting to understand how the British government exacerbated the situation by ensuring that rich landowners could ship their food stores offshore. The British also felt that the Irish deserved their suffering and enacted several weakly enforced policies to deal with the problem, which only worsened. I can understand why so many Irish came to resent the British.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for a school assignment and I found most parts boring and the whole book to be repetitive.

[Jennifer Mangler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thorough look at a horrible time in Ireland's history. I learned a lot.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, these poor people. One, they had to deal with more than just not having the potatoes to eat, they had to deal with the Black Plague. And, two, they had to deal with the bad government of Britian. The British government thought if they enacted more and more laws and "helpful tips" that would help out the Irish people who were starving and dying. Three, the people had to deal with being evicted by the rich landlords because they couldn't pay their rent.

So much money and food came from around the world but it didn't help as much as was needed. What I wanted to know was what really happened to make the potatoes fail. It was a fungus that was brought in from South America in bat guano to fertilize the potato crop.

Such a fascinating book and I learned a lot of information.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fungus grows on potatoes in Ireland and the poor starve. England rules Ireland, and the people of Ireland suffer during this terrible time in Irish history. A few leaders in England try to do some things to help the Irish, but their efforts are too small and too late. Hundreds of thousands of people leave Ireland and hundreds of thousands of people die.

[Dana K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intended for middle grade, but I found this a great resource to quickly learn about the subject. It is well organized and easy to read but tells the brutal truths.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was curious about the Irish Potato Famine, something I knew little about, so I found a book at the library to help me learn more. And, boy, did I learn a lot!
.
If you're wanting a basic history of 1840s Ireland, this is a good book for you.

[Alaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book states repeatedly that lice jumped from one person to another. That it was impossible to avoid them because they'd jump off a corpse to the nearest warm body. Lice don't jump. They're not fleas. This is a small detail but when you're writing a historical book, this stuff matters!

Other than that, I did like it. I don't know how accurate it is because it says that lice jump, but it's the most I've read about the potato famine so far. My Irish ancestors came to America well before the famine, so there aren't any family stories and I was curious about this time in Irish history.

Easy to read but the devil's in the details.

[Bradyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was wrote very well. It must have took a long time to find these witnesses and get them to tell you their story. I really enjoyed this book it was very sad but I still liked it very much. I would really enjoy this book more if it was longer the book is a little short. I would suggest that you read this book Susan really wrote this book well. One thing I did not like about this book is that the book has some really confusing words in it. Most of the time you will have to look them up but some of the time you just know them.

[Tuuli Hypén · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, plenty of images. This book is not only a through recounting of the Great Irish Famine but also a good introduction to the history of everyday life in 19th century Ireland; how the Irish farmers built their houses, at what age did they marry, what were their religious views like and so on. Even though the overall theme is pretty grim, the book itself is not too thick and the text is easy to follow.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the potato famine in 1845-1850 its a great book it tells you what all happen in that five year time period. It talks about the Irish history and how the potato famine occurred. It talks about when ever there was not any potatoes left so they had to search for turnips and they would dig up dead animals just so they could have something to eat and if they were poor but still living in a house people would get on top of it and burn it. The people that were really poor would live in scalps that is were the poor people would live in a ditch made out of sticks.

[Kelsie]

The book Black Potatoes is a very interesting book. Black potatoes gives a lot of details about the potato famine. It also gives information about how people dealt with starvation. A lot of different things happened during this time. A disease broke out and caused many deaths. People also done horrible things because they were starving. Black Potatoes is very interesting and has shocking parts in my opinion. This is a very good book to read if you want to know about what some horrifying things happened in 1845.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Potatoes is a nonfiction account of the Irish potato famine. I learned quite a bit reading it. Scattered throughout are lovely pictures depicting scenes from during the famine from around the country. On occasion it was hard to follow, though. I recommend this book to middle grade and up kids and adults who are learning about or interested in the potato famine.

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting and thorough explanation of the Irish potato famine. I read this with my older girls (11 & up) and it was perfect for their level of understanding and emotional ability to handle the story.

[Natalie B]

Black Potatoes by Susan Campbell Bartoletti is an interesting book but I´m really not a fan but it is a good book to read. It is really detailed and gives you all these facts and things that they did in the old days or what they had. The thing that I liked most about reading this book so far is the blight and how many people died. That was interesting about one or two million people died of the blight.

[Cory]

In 1845 a disaster struck Ireland. Overnight a mysterious blight attacked the potato crops, turning the potatoes black and destroying the only real food of nearly six million people. People over the next five years the people were severing and starving because of the blight. It attacked again and again. These years are known today as the Great Irish Famine, a time when one million people died from starvation and disease.

[TerrellD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Potatoes is a really good book. It talks about the Great Irish Famine that lasted five years. The famine was caused by the blight. Blight is a plant disease that can kill any plant. The blight killed all the potatoes in Ireland. Ireland's main crop is the potatoe they ate it every day and without it they had nothing to eat.

[Gage · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the great Irish famine. Black Potatoes is really sad. A lot of people went crazy and starved to death. You will cry a lot in this book. Barely any people cared that they where starving or going crazy.

[Allison Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great non fiction book

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good representation of the Irish potato famine. Short book for the amount of content it covers.

[Hartley D]

The book Black Potatoes, informed me on lots of things. I learned that there was a Great Irish Famine in Ireland through 1845 to 1850. People were emaciated and died of hunger. I really like this book because it is very interesting and fun to read. It is also good to know because it is an important history story.

[Hallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Potatoes informed me of a lot of information. I loved how the book gave pictures with captions to better understand what I was reading about. I found this book interesting and fun to read. I learned so many new words while reading this book. I would recommend this book because you can really learn a lot.