Me and the Pumpkin Queen - Softcover

Kennedy, Marlane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061140244 ISBN 13: 9780061140242

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 2009

Synopsis

It's just something she has to do.

Mildred has always dreamed of growing a one-thousand-pound pumpkin to enter in her town's Pumpkin Show. Her aunt Arlene thinks she's obsessed, but Mildred prefers to think of herself as focused. And growing giant pumpkins is way more interesting than boys or clothes or the other girly things Aunt Arlene wants her to like. She's been trying for four long growing seasons—ever since her mama died—and every one has ended in disaster. It's not easy, especially with dogs who don't realize how delicate seedlings are, and tornadoes that could destroy months of work, and most people thinking that an eleven-year-old doesn't stand a chance. But Daddy believes in Mildred, and so does her best friend, Jacob. Maybe this will finally be her year.

About this title

About the Author:

Marlane Kennedy moved to Circleville, Ohio, at age eleven. She participated in many Pumpkin Show parades as a child, but never tried growing her own giant pumpkin. But after writing Me and the Pumpkin Queen, she planted her own Howard Dill's Atlantic Giant seed and grew a 250-pounder, pictured above, that took fifth prize in her local fair. Marlane Kennedy is also the author of The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes. She lives in Wooster, Ohio, with her husband and three children.

From Booklist:

Mildred misses her mother. She died when the 11-year-old was only six. But one thing Mildred remembers about her mother is how she loved Circleville, Ohio's pumpkin festival. So Mildred takes up growing pumpkins, big ones—make that huge ones—all in hopes of winning the pumpkin show weigh-off. "I don't think I'm abnormally obsessive," Mildred says as the book opens, but frankly, anyone reading her story might beg to differ. Told in a first-person narrative, this novel offers a step-by-step, detailed explanation of how to grow giant pumpkins. Fortunately, there is more: Mildred's prickly relationship with her aunt; her satisfying bond with her veterinarian father (a rather graphic description of a calve's birthing is included); and a little about her friendship with other kids. But, mostly, this is about growing pumpkins. Interestingly, even readers with no particular interest in the topic are likely to be drawn in by Kennedy's straightforward narrative, as solid and unadorned as a pumpkin, yet lovely in its own way. Cooper, Ilene

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0061140244
• ISBN 13: 9780061140242
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192