Marlane Kennedy

A winning story that charmingly depicts one girl's sheer determination to achieve a goal and honor her late mother.

Mildred loves going to the Circleville Pumpkin Show every October to
look at the giant pumpkins. Her mother, who died when Mildred was 6, was Pumpkin Show Queen in the 11th grade and often mused that she should try growing a giant pumpkin. Since her mother's death, Mildred has grown pumpkins every year trying to nurture one for the contest. At age 11she so far hasn't successfully grown a qualified pumpkin but she has learned a lot about how to raise them. This year, after much anguish caring for this year's pumpkins and clashing with her Aunt Arlene about growing up, Mildred wins the contest with her first entry, one that weighs1,401 pounds. As Aunt Arlene observes, "I think by tending to those pumpkins, she was tending to her grief." Narrative nicely captures Mildred's healthy determination to achieve her goals.
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