My Life as a Potato

By: Arianne Costner

Narrated by: Robbie Daymond

For anyone who has ever felt like a potato in middle school, this hilarious story about a boy forced to become the dorkiest school mascot ever will have listeners cheering!

"A grade A, spudtastic (not to mention FUNNY) debut. Arianne Costner sure knows middle school and middle schoolers!" --Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Ben Hardy believes he's cursed by potatoes. And now he's moved to Idaho, where the school's mascot is Steve the Spud! Yeah, this cannot be good.

After accidentally causing the mascot to sprain an ankle, Ben is sentenced to Spud duty for the final basketball games of the year. But if the other kids know he's the Spud, his plans for popularity are likely to be a big dud! Ben doesn't want to let the team down, so he lies to his friends to keep it a secret. No one will know it's him under the potato suit . . . right?

Life as a potato is all about not getting mashed!

"A hilarious, relatable story for any kid who has ever felt out of place." --Stacy McAnulty, author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

Critic reviews

"Reminiscent of Lincoln Peirce's 'Big Nate' comics and Chris Grabenstein's and James Patterson's 'I Funny' series." --School Library Journal

“The author keeps the novel moving quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momentum.” —Kirkus Reviews

"A hilarious, relatable story for any kid who has ever felt out of place." --Stacy McAnulty, author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

Super fun book

I’m a nurse in middle of COVID health crisis, so it was really relaxing to read this light book whose drama is about middle age insecurities and living for the moment.

So funny

I laughed out loud so many times. Seriously good, and well written! The characters were well developed, the story is engaging, and the humor is spot on. A great read for any age. Kindness is king :)

Excellent

Author, Arianne Costner, hit the mark for what middle schoolers are like while the narrator, Robbie Daymond, is spot on!

One Potato, Two Potato...Five Potatoes!

I overheard my middle-grade-bound son LOLing so much over this that I had to check it out for myself. Faster than you can peel a potato, I was LOLing right along with him! Right off the bat, Ben Hardy establishes himself as a witty kid, but he quickly grows into something more: a very believable, three-dimensional middleschooler. Same goes for his friends and frenemies, and even his teachers. It felt refreshing to read a comedic book where the coach isn't a buffoon, but rather the kind of sensitive and decent mentor who cares just as much about the non-athletes as he does about his team. Make no mistake though—even without the usual stereotype, the coach is still one of the funniest characters.

The narration is great too. We'd just listened to Robbie Daymond reading one of the Rick Riordan APOLLO books. But thanks to Daymond's talents, our transition from Greek gods to middle-grade mascots went down as smooth as a plate of mashed potatoes.

In print or on audio, this is one potato that will leave you satisfied.