I Am a Potato by Ziggy Hanaor: A Playful Picture Book About Finding Your Name

A small, furry creature insists it’s a potato. The animals around it have other ideas, and their questions turn I am a Potato into a playful guessing game about what makes a creature what it is. Ziggy Hanaor’s picture book, illustrated by Elliot Kruszynski, finds comedy in the gap between the confidence of the claim and the uncertainty of everyone trying to solve it.

Published: 3 August 2024
Publisher: Cicada Books
Illustrator: Elliot Kruszynski
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
Rating: ★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

If Creature is not a potato, what could they possibly be? Taxonomy has never been so much fun!

A mystery built from questions

Dog starts the investigation by testing Creature’s claim against a few familiar potato traits. Creature doesn’t grow underground and doesn’t have lots of eyes, Dog points out, so the label doesn’t fit. Cat takes the inquiry in a different direction, asking about breathing, eating, moving and other signs of animal life. That gets the group closer, but still leaves the central question open: what kind of animal is Creature?

As more companions arrive, the possibilities multiply. Their reasoning is often imperfect, but it has its own childlike logic: a fondness for swimming might suggest a fish, for instance. The fun comes from watching the group test each idea, and from the way one answer creates another question. The story gives young readers room to consider the clues alongside the characters without turning the book into a lesson in classification.

The reviewer especially enjoyed the growing circle of helpers and the earnestness of their theories. Rabbit, whose glasses suggest a sharper analytical streak, becomes increasingly baffled by the conversation. That exasperation supplies a useful counterpoint to the others’ enthusiastic guesses. Each animal brings a different way of looking at the problem, so the discussion keeps shifting even as Creature waits for a satisfying answer.

Character in the pictures

Kruszynski’s illustrations are central to the book’s appeal. The reviewer describes Creature and the surrounding animals as adorable, but the artwork does more than make the cast appealing: Creature’s uncertainty and frustration come through in its expressions and posture. The emotional performance helps give shape to the identity question, especially for readers too young to follow every exchange as an argument about what counts as an animal.

The page design also supports the group’s investigation. A division down the page and an expanding lineup of animals make the succession of suggestions easy to follow. As the cast grows, the visual arrangement turns the conversation into a shared effort: new arrivals add to the inquiry, while the original claim remains in view. That clear staging suits a story whose pleasure depends on following several small observations in sequence.

For a read-aloud, the repeated questions and changing guesses offer natural moments for children to join in. Adults can pause to ask what evidence a character has, or invite listeners to suggest another possibility. The book’s humor doesn’t depend on having a single correct answer at every turn; it comes from the characters’ conviction, their occasional confusion and the contrast between their theories.

A charming premise with a qualified finish

The reviewer’s reservation is the ending. They weren’t entirely won over by it, though they understood the connection to the potato claim. Rabbit’s continued bafflement remained a highlight. That response points to the book’s particular charm: its funniest moments often come not from a neat explanation, but from the characters taking the problem seriously and reacting in their own distinct ways.

I am a Potato looks like a good fit for families who enjoy expressive animal characters, conversational humor and picture books that invite children to reason along with the cast. Its 32-page format keeps the premise focused, while the sequence of observations gives readers plenty to discuss. The reviewer awarded it three stars, praising its warmth, layout and illustrations while finding the conclusion less satisfying than the journey.

For readers choosing books to share, the strongest draw is the combination of a wonderfully absurd opening claim and a patient, communal search for an answer. Children can enjoy the creature’s predicament; adults may find themselves watching Rabbit as closely as the self-declared potato. The book’s questions leave space for conversation well after the group has finished weighing the possibilities.

Where to find the book

I am a Potato is available from QBD, Dymocks and Booktopia.

It is also listed by Wordery, Blackwell’s and Angus & Robertson.

Further listings appear at Fishpond, Amazon and Amazon Aust.

For book-club or family reading, its most lasting invitation may be the simplest: look closely, ask another question, and see whether the next clue changes your mind.

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