Synopses & Reviews
Every year, giant pumpkin contests take place at fairs across the country—the 2012 record-holder weighed over a ton! The latest craze is to carve the most enormous pumpkins into racing boats. But what’s next? Why not think really big? Award-winning artist Wendell Minor does just that as he imagines larger-than-life pumpkins decorating some of America’s favorite places—as immense as the Capitol dome, Mount Rushmore, the Brooklyn Bridge, even the Grand Canyon! This celebration of famous landmarks and landscapes plays with concepts of size and scale and is full of fun facts.
Review
“Quickly takes a turn for the fantastical as Minor imaginatively answers the title question. . . . An appended list of these monuments and attractions gives their states and a brief informative blurb about each one. . . . The autumnal orange of the pumpkins stands out . . . their full-page dimensions well suited for sharing this book with a group.”
Review
“Minor imagines . . . JUMBO pumpkins, placing each in a signature American scene for a bit of geographical literacy and a good deal of juxtapositional fun. The artists proven talent for classic landscapes here gets a wink with the STUPENDOUS jack-o-lanterns plomping their grinning selves down like they owned the place.”
Review
“After introducing giant pumpkins and giant pumpkin festivals, Minor asks, ‘What can you do with an ENORMOUS pumpkin? He offers a number of memorable answers (some factual, others fanciful) based on real sites in America and amplified by his wonderfully visual imagination. . . . Kids will enjoy the increasing absurdity as much as the challenge of guessing the locations pictured. A concluding two-page spread names the 14 sites depicted and gives a little information about each one. Minors watercolor-and-gouache paintings are well composed, richly colored, and (best of all) just plain fun. With a text that asks leading questions, this picture book makes a fine, imaginative read-aloud choice.”
Synopsis
Rebecca Estelle has hated pumpkins ever since she was a girl. When an enormous pumpkin falls off a truck and smashes in her yard, she shovels dirt over the pieces and forgets about them. But those slimy pumpkin smithereens sprout up in autumn, and Rebecca Estelle finds herself with a sea pumpkins. What will she do with so many pumpkins, when she can't stand the sight of even one?
Synopsis
What can you do with too many pumpkins? Rebecca Estelle has hated pumpkins ever since she was a girl when pumpkins were often the only food her family had. When an enormous pumpkin falls off a truck and smashes in her yard, she shovels dirt over the pieces and forgets about them. But those slimy pumpkin smithereens sprout up in autumn, and Rebecca Estelle finds herself with a sea of pumpkins.
A heartwarming classic for more than twenty years, and a consistent favorite as Autumn rolls around, this story shows what happens when one thrifty gardener figures out how to make other people happy with the squash she can't stomach.
Filled with colorful illustrations from a season of gardening, this is a perfect book for young gardeners, pumpkin lovers--and has a wonderful lesson about finding the silver lining through helping others.
About the Author
Wendell Minor (www.minorart.com) has traveled throughout the United States to research art for over fifty award-winning picture books, which include America the Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates, Look to the Stars by Buzz Aldrin, The Wolves Are Back by Jean Craighead George, and his own Yankee Doodle America and My Farm Friends. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Eric Carle Museum, and the Library of Congress. He lives in Washington, Connecticut.