Recently, while wandering through the Ridgefield Library, I saw a book with a giant pumpkin on the cover that read, "Will her pumpkin win the prize?" As someone who loves fall and everything pumpkin, I immediately grabbed the book.
Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy is the story of of 11-year-old Mildred who lives in Circleville, Ohio, home to a giant pumpkin festival. Mildred lost her mom when she was six, but among her most cherished memories of her mom are the memories of going to the pumpkin festival and looking at the giant pumpkins together. Mildred attempted to grow her first pumpkin at age 7 with no luck and continued trying each year thereafter. We meet Mildred at the start of the growing season and follow her through her journey from seed to hopefully the scale at the pumpkin weigh off.
Living in Ridgefield, this story feels very close to home, as giant pumpkins arrive in our town for the Ridgefield Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off. In terms of pumpkin growing, Kennedy does a great job showing kids everything that goes into growing a giant pumpkin. It takes far more work than simply putting a seed in the ground and adding water. My favorite scene was probably Mildred's birthday when she received the gift she wanted most....fertilizer for her pumpkin plant. Kennedy manages to make the magnitude of giant pumpkin growing understandable for children while showing an accurate picture of the amount of work involved.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I liked seeing a main character who realized her interest in growing a giant pumpkin were different than other girls her age, but that it was okay to be different and follow her dreams. She worked through her grief over the loss of her mom through tending for her pumpkin plant, and I loved how Kennedy tackled a big issue like that in a way that tween readers could easily understand and identify with the main character, whether they have been through a similar loss or not.
I would definitely recommend this book.
D