Too Many Pumpkins (Paperback)

by Linda White (Author), Megan Lloyd (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Rebecca Estelle hates pumpkins. "What's not to like?" you may be thinking. Certainly, pumpkins are benign, as far as gourds go, and they make for delicious pies. But if you were forced to eat only pumpkins (baked, steamed, boiled, stewed, mashed, and rotten), you might agree with Rebecca, who was so poor as a child that she could only afford to eat the unrelentingly orange squash.

One day, years and years later, white-haired Rebecca was busy not eating pumpkins when--SPLAT--a giant pumpkin fell off an overloaded truck and smashed into her yard. She buried the mess so she wouldn't have to look at it, and, as you might imagine, she witnessed a bumper crop the following fall. In Too Many Pumpkins, a 1996 American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists," Linda White (who based the book on her own pumpkin-eating aunt Becky) reveals how swallowing one's personal (pumpkin) prejudices can end up benefiting a whole community. Illustrator Megan Lloyd creates spunky, detail-rich drawings that are sure to hold up to the scrutiny of youngsters everywhere. This is an ideal Halloween-time book for those who want to bypass ghouls and goblins (or any actual mention of Halloween) and focus on ... pumpkins! (Ages 4 to 8) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Golden autumn hues cast their warm glow throughout this humorous harvest tale. Rebecca Estelle, having survived on various pumpkin dishes during her poor childhood, hates them so much that when a pumpkin accidentally falls into her yard, she shovels dirt over it so she won't have to see or think about it again. In spite of all her efforts to the contrary, she is "rewarded" with a yard full of bright orange globes the following fall. Not willing to let the windfall go to waste, she once again prepares the dishes she detested as a child, carves jack-o-lanterns from the remaining pile, and then thoroughly enjoys the fellowship of her neighbors lured by the glow of the mischievous carvings. And, of course, Rebecca Estelle saves seeds for next year's planting. Lloyd snuggles White's text into her rich watercolor-and-pen illustrations. Nature's determined bounty spills from formal borders and is tinged with just the right touch of realism to contrast with the cartoonlike Rebecca Estelle and her feline companion. The vocabulary and sentence structure calls for solid independent readers, but the large horizontal format packed with engaging fun makes this title an ideal harvest/Halloween read-aloud.
Claudia Cooper, Ft. Stockton Independent School District, TX
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823413209
• ISBN-13: 978-0823413201
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 9.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #342,609 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Much Fun!, October 29, 2000

By	Christy Bagasao (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Too Many Pumpkins (Hardcover)

Linda White shows a side of life that people do not often see nowadays--the optimistic approach to life. What do you do when your childhood experiences have led you to, quite frankly, hate pumpkins, and through an odd twist of circumstances you end up with a houseful of them?! Make the best of it! Too Many Pumpkins is a wonderful (and educational--watch the seeds grow!) Autumn/Halloween book without the spooks and goblins that aren't always suitable for a bedtime story. This is a delightful read with beautiful illustrations that your children will love, and you won't mind reading it "just one more time." Go ahead--read it with your little Pumpkin...and then bake a pumpkin pie together.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pumpkins Galore!, August 21, 2002

By	Terrie (Little Chute, WI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Rebecca Estelle has a problem on her hands. Rebecca Estelle is a white-haired woman who lives with her calico cat Esmeralda. She hates pumpkins because when she was a youngster her family was poor and ALL they had to eat was pumpkins. She doesn't even like to think about them. One day a truck loaded with pumpkins loses a pumpkin that smashes in Rebecca Estelle's yard and sends seeds flying every which way. When plants spring up she refuses to tend to them and just ignores them all summer long. She won't even go over near the space where the pumpkin smashed. In autumn, much to her surprise there is a huge pumpkin patch just filled with beautiful big orange pumpkins. At first she is horrified. There is a SEA of pumpkins! She uses her clever ingeniuity and her practical good sense to figure out a wonderful way to not only use up the pumpkins, but to attract many people to help her share the pumpkins. She ends up with a delightful party atmosphere, sharing a happy Halloween and she patches up her differences with pumpkins. The illustrations are utterly charming, brightly colored and filled with warm and homey country scenes. The feeling of autumn's hazy nostalgia and the wonderful aromas of harvest baking almost leap up out of the pages. Parents will enjoy reading this one every year at Halloween and the kids will love it for years to come.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My girls LOVE this book!, October 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Too Many Pumpkins (Hardcover)

With a captivating and amusing storyline and brilliant illustrations, "Too Many Pumpkins" is a family favorite. It will delight the youngest reader and Mom and Dad will enjoy reading it over and over! It is a wonderful introduction to the world of gardening and the Halloween season while avoiding many of the things young children may find frightening about that holiday. Truly a treasure!