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

Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850 by Susan Campbell Bartoletti is, obviously, about the potatoes famine in Ireland.

This is the first book I have read for my class on Literature for Children and Adolescents.

Bartoletti does a great job of not only talking about the fungus that killed the potatoes but the people whose lives were affected - from the British who invaded Ireland, the poor farmers who live off of only potatoes, the land owners, and the countries who tried to help stop the famine.

Ireland had over 8 million people before the famine. It was the most densely populated nation in Europe. With the starvation and emigration caused by the famine, in 1900 Ireland was down to just over 4 million people.

Black Potatoes is a fascinating look at the famine and how it shaped Ireland and the Irish people around the world for years to come.

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. (2001). Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.