Cover of Black Potatoes

Black Potatoes

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Black Potatoes by Susan Campbell Bartoletti is assigned in US schools at grades 6–10. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where Black Potatoes is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 6–10
Pages
280
Reading time
about 5h 10m (est.)
First published
2014
ISBN-13
9780547530857
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About this book

Sibert Award Winner: This true story of five years of starvation in Ireland is "a fascinating account of a terrible time" ( Kirkus Reviews). In 1845, a disaster struck Ireland. Overnight, a mysterious blight attacked the potato crops, turning the potatoes black and destroying the only real food of nearly six million people. Over the next five years, the blight attacked again and again. These years are known today as the Great Irish Famine, a time when one million people died from starvation and disease and two million more fled their homeland. Black Potatoes is the compelling story of men, women, and children who defied landlords and searched empty fields for scraps of harvested vegetables and edible weeds to eat, who walked several miles each day to hard-labor jobs for meager wages and to

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Black Potatoes?
Black Potatoes is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 6–10. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
How long does it take to read Black Potatoes?
It takes about 5h 10m to read Black Potatoes (280 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 310 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Black Potatoes?
Black Potatoes appears on reading lists for Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Black Potatoes banned in schools?
Black Potatoes does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.

Why this book is on this list

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 6–10 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: award-winner.