The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues

The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues [Ellen Raskin] on leondumoulin.nl *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. From the Newbery Award-winning author of THE.
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Garson's art is faci I don't quite love this as much as I do The Westing Game , but it's awfully close. Garson's art is facile, but he's hiding secrets, and the story of how those secrets are eventually revealed is told through a series of short mysteries the police ask Garson to help solve. Dickory and Garson complement each other well, with Dickory's powers of observation growing as she comes up against Garson's penchant for disguising himself, mostly to test her.

Garson, in turn, is an intriguing character whose past is tied up with his present. I think he learns his lesson, because his later works still show truth, but it's an honest truth, if that makes sense.


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Cookie Panzpresser's portrait shows who she is, but it's not painted to ridicule her, rather to reveal her character that her husband loves so much. Raskin is a master of capturing character with a few deft images, and even the secondary characters benefit from this. It's a fast read, and holds up well despite its age. Jun 06, Jeff Lewonczyk rated it really liked it. When I first read this in fifth grade, it completely perplexed me. When I read it again a few years later, it was a revelation.

Revisiting it in middle age, I'm feeling a little bit of both. This is a meta-mystery about personal identity - what it means to be a person in the world, how to understand how others perceive you, and the meaning of art. It's heady, sophisticated stuff for young readers, and it never for a moment speaks down to them - not in its themes or plotting, nor in its prose.

It When I first read this in fifth grade, it completely perplexed me. It's a quick read for me now, but some-odd years ago it was a challenge even for a voracious reader like me. Along the way, though, it's funny and mysterious and evocative and surreal, with a parade of strange characters and bizarre situations.

The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues Reader’s Guide

I'm not sure it entirely holds together in the end, but it has a grit and scope of imagination unmatched by most books, regardless of the age of their intended audience. The fact that I've read it three times, and taken something different from it with each reading, is in itself a testament that there's something special here, even if it's still a few inches away from being fully-formed.

Apr 11, Heather rated it really liked it. This is an odd little book, but very clever and tightly written. I confess to being a bit confused at times by the interlacing mysteries, but it mostly comes together at the end. I probably should re-read it when I'm not tired, because I fear I skimmed things that were probably important. Mysteries are like that, I suppose.

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Mar 15, William Leight rated it it was amazing. Instead, she takes the chance to make fun of the Great Detective genre: Garson is, unusually for a detective, an artist, and art is central to his detective method: Dickory, meanwhile, is trying to put herself through art school the art school scenes in particular have a Korman-esque touch to them by taking a job as his assistant.

Their cases mostly come from the Chief of Police, only it soon becomes clear that he has something more in mind than some free policing help. Garson himself, it turns out, has a mysterious past, and seems to be wasting his artistic talent making hack portraits: The evolution of their relationship, as Dickory goes from humoring Garson to liking and respecting him, is well-drawn, and Dickory herself — fiercely independent, determined to succeed, and with definite ideas about art ideas that are quite credible, since Raskin, who started as an illustrator, knows whereof she writes here , plus a backstory featuring the death of her parents that Raskin is careful not to overplay — is both likable and believable.

The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues

I first read The Tattooed Potato when I was about 11 years old and discovered Ellen Raskin in the shelves of my school's library. I tore through everything they had including The Westing Game and The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon I Mean Noel , and after nearly 30 years they still rank among my favorite pieces of juvenile fiction. My eldest son, now 11 years old, brought TTP to me the other day to tell me that he had read it and really enjoyed it, which led me to re-read it.

It is still as I first read The Tattooed Potato when I was about 11 years old and discovered Ellen Raskin in the shelves of my school's library. It is still as wonderful today as it was the first time I read it. Ellen Raskin creates delightful and humanly-flawed characters and writes her mysteries with a sense of humor and a smattering of clues along the way that an astute reader might pick up, but without spoiling the outcome of the book.

What's more, her writing stands up to the test of time. Despite being written in , there are absolutely no details that date the story - it could easily be set in New York City. I would give it three thumbs-up: Apr 08, Terry rated it liked it Shelves: And I'm glad I did. We did have a good discussion about the ways children's literature has changed since our childhood. Frankweiler , so if those books are your jam, you'll most likely very much enjoy Raskin's book, if you haven't already loved it since your childhood.

The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin

I'm not arguing that children's literature has changed for the worse or some curmudgeonly comment like that Anyway, this is a charming and funny read with a nice dose of nostalgia for a New York that maybe never really was. May 14, Insouciantly rated it it was amazing Shelves: I read this book as a child, loved it, and promptly forgot about it, as children do.

Then, about a week ago, I got a text message from my sister that was something along the lines of "Do you remember a book we read as kids that was something abouta girl named Hickory Dock?

And there's a van gogh painting involved somehow? And something about a potato? And of cours I read this book as a child, loved it, and promptly forgot about it, as children do. And of course I had to reread it. And it was just as excellent as I remembered. Though, in fact, Van Gogh is never actually mentioned, but art is involved.

This book is a very strange beast. It's got a sort of mad genius compared to, say, The Westing Game, which has a sort of restrained genius and it careens wildly through details, dropping clues which end up fitting together too neatly and ridiculously - that prison scene at the end, for example, and the names of the police officers.

That said, there's a sprightliness in the madness that keeps the book feeling very alive, and there's also a running commentary on art - and art schools - that zings This book is a very strange beast. That said, there's a sprightliness in the madness that keeps the book feeling very alive, and there's also a running commentary on art - and art schools - that zings, even if the protagonist feels entirely too young to be in art school and too naive to be seventeen.

Jul 23, Kate rated it really liked it Shelves: Another fun, slightly melancholy puzzle-mystery by Raskin. The part that has always stuck with me is when Garson trains Dickory to identify in all his studio guests the one characteristic they cannot conceal, that will always signal their true identity.

I think I was a little too young for the complexity of this book when I read it a hundred times , and would like to revisit it again. Hopefully my old copy is somewhere safe, as the book is now, sadly, out of print. Aug 14, Alan rated it it was amazing Shelves: Don't let the Young Adult category dissuade you from enjoying this gem. The second YA book to make it to my Top Ten of all time list. The ending is both heartwarming and thought provoking.

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The reader is drawn into considering how human reaction to an artist's interpretation of a person in a portrait can lead to unintended consequences - tragic and hopeful. The language and dialogue is playful, witty, clever and just plain old laugh-out-loud funny. Sep 02, Kris rated it it was amazing Shelves: One of my favorite kid books to reread. It will surprise you and make you smile over the top at points , but then, sometimes that's a nice change. Oct 10, Jaimi Rachelle rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book just reminded me again why Ellen Raskin is so amazing.

It was light, easy-to-read, yet stayed somehow mature. After reading 'The Westing Game' earlier this year she was boosted to my number one author. Jul 19, Oyceter rated it really liked it Shelves: Aug 08, Lauren rated it really liked it. Makes me wish I was eleven years old again, reading this for the first time. Quirky, episodic, and genuinely mysterious, with a darkly wry sense of humor. Jun 01, Leah Coffin rated it it was amazing. I think I like this one even more than The Westing Game. Dickory is certainly one of my favorite literary heroines. Jun 24, Paul rated it really liked it.

I remembered how much I loved Ellen Raskin books years ago, and decided to read one I'd never read before. I loved this book so much I stole it from the library. A great puzzle mystery. Jun 11, Juny rated it really liked it Shelves: Ahhh I loved it! Perhaps not as much as the Westing Game but it's pretty high up there. Raskin is so good at writing mysteries that are so confusing but then wrap up nicely at the end.

Oh the end scene at the jail is so good with everyone there.

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I loved the playful nursery rhymes and the funny sort Ahhh I loved it! I loved the playful nursery rhymes and the funny sort of names of the detectives, Finkel, Dinkel, and Winkle. I'm still trying to figure out all the pieces. Though I'm still a bit confused why Garson overreacted when she was singing Oranges and Lemons song Anyways what a good book even without the romance which I was under the impression that it had, not sure where I got that Sep 08, Alicia rated it really liked it.

Something I read recently reminded me of this book and made me want to reread it--obviously Raskin's The Westing Game is a masterpiece, but her other novels are good too, and underrated. This one involves an art student who goes to work for a painter with a houseful of secrets, and what happens when they begin to assist the police with weird crimes.

Which all makes it sound slightly more serious than it actually is, when really it an interesting series of http: Which all makes it sound slightly more serious than it actually is, when really it an interesting series of puzzles and compelling characters. Jan 06, Pages Middle Grade 10 and up Buy. Jan 06, Pages Middle Grade 10 and up. The townhouse looks charming and quaint, but inside its redbrick walls lurk suspicious characters, multiple mysteries, and one very eccentric portrait artist.

Clues abound; and suddenly Dickory finds herself assisting Garson not in art but in crime solving. Can Dickory untangle the web of mysteries within mysteries and discover the true secret hiding on Cobble Lane? Also by Ellen Raskin. Inspired by Your Browsing History. Beyond the Bright Sea. The Evil Wizard Smallbone. Delia Sherman and Delia Sherman. The Christmas Eve Tree. You See, I See: Adler and Sam Ricks.

Joe and Sparky, Party Animals! In the Land of Happy Tears: Yiddish Tales for Modern Times. Me and My Family Tree. Me and My Place in Space. Me and My Amazing Body. The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth. Where Is the Tower of London? Pascal and Who HQ. Douglas Holgate and Max Brallier.