The Turnip by Pierr Morgan

The Turnip by Pierr Morgan

(Suggested age range: Preschool)

This is an old Russian folktale that I actually ran across when I talking about a Halloween book , Big Pumpkin. Somewhere I read that it was based on a Russian tale, so i had to find it.

In this story, Dedoushka grew a huge turnip, so big that he couldn’t pull it out of the ground. His wife, Baboushka, comes to help, but even the two of them together can’t pull out the turnip. They call their granddaughter and eventually, with the help of the granddaughter, the dog and cat and a tiny filed mouse, they finally pull the turnip free.

I love the bright illustrations, the characters stand out well against the more pastel farm background. The story itself has a nice rhythm and the names give it a distinct Russian flavor.

Deduchka pullat the turnip,
Baboushka pulled at Dedoushka,
Mashenka pulled at Baboushka,
Geouchka pulled at Masehnka,
Keska pulled at Geouchka,
the little field mouse pulled at Keska.

And out came the turnip.

Some good lessons here. First off is persistence. They kept trying and trying to get the turnip out until they have success. Also, it took teamwork to do the job and even the smallest creature was needed, everyone’s contributions were important.

This would be a great story to read aloud to preschoolers.

Today is usually Fairy Tale Friday hosted by Tif, from Tif Talks Books. However, today she did something a little different. Over the next couple of weeks,she wants us to share fairy tale food and fun!  Head over to her site for more details and a list of ideas.

Published 1996.
32 pages.

Challenge: 100+

I borrowed my copy from the library and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate.