BIG POTATO and POOKA Inspiration

Connie: I'm a librarian in Michigan and I've been using Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato and Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka to teach students the difference between a folktale and an original story. I wanted to expand on the lesson by showing students other versions of the folktale that Tomie dePaola used as a basis for the first Jamie book.

Tomie: I got the idea for JAMIE O'ROURKE AND THE BIG POTATO after reading "A Big Potato," by John Brodison. I got the idea for JAMIE O'ROURKE AND THE POOKA after reading "The Kildare Pooka," by Patrick Kennedy. When you read "A Big Potato" and "The Kildare Pooka," you might be surprised that they were enough to inspire my stories.

STREGA NONA was inspired by "The Porridge Pot" story.