The Pumpkins of Time: A Story for a Field [Hardcover]

Mel Gilden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 1994 | Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Pumpkins, dandelions, aliens from space, and a little time travel add up to a fast-moving, funny science-fiction novel for middle grade readers. “Gilden salts this humorous sci-fi tale with literary references, keeps the plot spinning like a plate on a stick, and promises more hilarious adventures for this plucky, unconventional duo.”--School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-Having helped his Uncle Hugo, a tycoon inventor, rescue a crew of stranded space aliens in Outer Space and All that Junk (Lippincott, 1989), 14-year-old Myron Duberville returns to battle foes from the future who are intent on forcing him to cough up the superweapons displayed in his comic-book collection. As time machines in the far future are giant pumpkins, and Uncle Hugo's experiments in temporal storage and manipulation tend to end explosively, fastidious Myron and his capable sidekick, Princess, spend much of the story covered in stringy orange goo, or "p'yugch"-a good thing, too, as after a long and silly chase the stuff insulates them from the effects of a climactic blast that sends the bad guys to who-knows-when. Gilden salts this humorous sci-fi tale with literary references, keeps the plot spinning like a plate on a stick, and promises more hilarious adventures for this plucky, unconventional duo.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. Myron, who has a passion for collecting superhero comic books, his friend Princess, and a newly acquired cat named H. G. Wells become involved with some unsavory time travelers. Starting with an explosion in the dandelion mush that Myron's uncle Hugo has simmering in the barn and ending with a blast of dandelions and time-traveling pumpkin shells, the plot is an improbable but engaging mix of fantasy, circumstance, and tongue-in-cheek humor. Myron is an appealing character, an intellectual of sorts with an assortment of unusual quirks. His reactions to an ever-changing "timescape" and his interactions with the indomitable Princess hold an unlikely sequence of events in focus. The story will be easy to sell to either gender and will come in handy for librarians looking for books to satisfy hard-to-fit readers. Janice Del Negro

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (November 30, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152766030
• ISBN-13: 978-0152766030
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,769,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mel Gilden is the author of many children's books, some of which received rave reviews in such places as School Library Journal and Booklist. His multi-part stories for children appeared frequently in the Los Angeles Times. His popular novels and short stories for grown-ups have also received good reviews in the Washington Post and other publications. (See new publications under his name at the Kindle Store of Amazon.com.)
Licensed properties include adaptations of feature films, and of TV shows such as Beverly Hills, 90210; and NASCAR Racers. He has also written books based on video games and has written original stories based in the Star Trek universe. His short stories have appeared in many original and reprint anthologies.
He has written cartoons for TV, has developed new shows, and was assistant story editor for the DIC television production of The Real Ghostbusters. He consulted at Disney and Universal, helping develop theme park attractions. Gilden spent five years as co-host of the science-fiction interview show, Hour-25, on KPFK radio in Los Angeles.
Gilden lectures to school and library groups, and has been known to teach fiction writing. He lives in Los Angeles, California, where the debris meets the sea, and still hopes to be an astronaut when he grows up.