Marlane KennedyRecensioner

00012146

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.

I loved this book! It was selected as a SSYRA book for 2009-10 school year. Very quick to read, very sweet and humorous. Great book for kids!

I loved this book! It was selected as a SSYRA book for 2009-10 school year. Very quick to read, very sweet and humorous. Great book for kids!

Can't help but like a book about giant pumpkins set in Circleville, but the details were suspiciously similar to Janet Bauer's Squashed...

Charlotte is not a dog person. She doesn’t see why people adore dogs. At first she goes online she types on Saint Bernard’s and her dad is selling her dog so she is going to buy it to give to a rescue group. Review by AS

Reviewed by Julie M. Prince for TeensReadToo.com

Mildred dreams big dreams in the shape of a pumpkin. This may seem strange to some people, and it especially does to her Aunt Arlene, who's convinced Mildred should start acting and dressing like girls her own age. It's not normal, according to Aunt Arlene, for 11-year-old girls to spend every single summer cultivating a tiny seed and trying to grow it into a giant pumpkin. Even if it is to win the Circleville Pumpkin Show's giant pumpkin contest.

But to Mildred, it makes perfect sense for her to try to make her mother's wish come true. The former Pumpkin Show Queen died when Mildred was only six, but Mildred still remembers how much she loved those huge pumpkins, and that she'd mentioned a desire to take home the prize for the largest pumpkin.

So, with the help of her veterinarian father and her best friend, Jacob, Mildred once again sets out on her pumpkin growing adventure, with her eye on the prize.

Librarians across the country are already selecting this book as a top choice for young students, and I can see why. The narrative voice is strong, and Mildred's control over her own world is enviable. Some challenges on her road to success bring the story home and have the reader rooting for the little girl with the big dreams.

Look for this genuinely sweet read on the shelves!

“Now, as I was saying, my focus on giant pumpkins started when I was six.”

Five years later, eleven-year-old Mildred maintains her focus, which, as she sees it, is not so unusual. Other girls her age are focused on clothes or boys: “It just so happens that my thoughts are consumed with something out of the ordinary.” Yes, that’s right, she wants to grow a giant pumpkin.

You see, Mildred lives in Circleville, Ohio where every October ushers in Fall but also the annual pumpkin festival. Mildred’s late mother had wanted to grow a giant pumpkin and enter the giant pumpkin contest, but she never got around to actually growing one before she died. Mildred resolves to fill part of the hole left by her mother’s absence by planting and cultivating pumpkins.

Unfortunately, growing pumpkins is one thing; growing a prize winning giant pumpkin is another. Mildred has spent that past few years trying and failing as a prize winning pumpkin grower due to one unforseen obstacle after another. Fortunately, Mildred’s one determined (obsessed, focused, you name it) girl, and she continues to throw her heart and soul into the task.

All of the time Mildred spends in devotion to her prize pumpkin growing goal makes her Aunt Arlene nervous; Aunt Arlene fears it will cause Mildred’s heart to break yet again. But Mildred’s father recognizes that each person’s grieving process is unique and needs to be left free to run its course, and he supports Mildred in her pumpkin growing efforts. Aunt Arlene does not give up easily, and she tries to distract Mildred with boys and clothes.

Finally, Aunt Arlene insists Mildred take a vacation away from her beloved pumpkins. Mildred must trust her father and friend to take care of them for her for a few days. Although she does feel anxious leaving her precious pumpkins behind, she learns about trusting others, letting go, accepting help, and supporting friends and family.

Me and the Pumpkin Queen goes into great detail about the process of growing giant pumpkins, but along the way it also reveals a great deal about loss, about one girl’s process for going about living after loss, and about the slow process of healing.

A few other recent books that lack giant pumpkins but that also tackle the subjects of father/daughter relationships and grief after loss include Mary Amato’s The Naked Mole Rat Letters, Amy Hest’s Remembering Mrs. Rossi, and Jenny Lombard’s Drita, My Homegirl.

Eleven-year-old Charlotte is not a dog person but does not like that the rest of her family neglects their Saint Bernard puppy, and so with a lot of determination and a little sneakiness, she works on finding a good home for the gentle giant.½

Charlotte Hayes is twelve-years-old and is not a dog person. When her father brings home a Saint Bernard puppy she is not happy about having to care for it but after a short time she is the only one who will. Her father has a short attention span and is off to his next hobby, her mom is exhausted from caring for her baby brother and her older sister is boy crazy. Charlotte knows that Beauregard needs a home that will provide him with more love and constant care. He's a nice dog that shouldn't be chained up in the backyard next to his too small dog house. She comes up with a great plan that requires her to work hard and her friends to provide a bit of help. In the process of making this plan a reality she makes some discoveries about herself. She may just like this dog after all.

This may be a children's book but it has themes of friendship, loyalty and compassion that speak to everyone. I found it to be a sweet story with charming characters and an interesting plot. It's an easy read that is age appropriate and well written. As the story continued it drew me in. I found myself caring about this big, slobbery, gentle dog and cheering on Charlotte for coming to his rescue. And in the process of helping Beauregarde to have a happier life she helped others to improve their lives as well. I adored this book and could see it developed into a series. I would be so curious to see where this family and their friends go from here.

Charlotte Hayes is an almost-twelve-year-old girl in Greater Oaks, West Virginia. She lives in a reasonably happy family with an older sister, a baby brother, and a big slobbery St. Bernard. Her father got the dog as a puppy, named him Killer, and then lost interest in him. Her dad has a good heart, but a short attention span. Charlotte’s mom has her hands full with her baby brother, and Charlotte’s sister is into boys. So there is no one to take care of Killer except Charlotte.

She renames the dog Beauregard, checks his food and water, pets him, cleans up after him, but doesn’t really want the job. Along with her friends Luanne and Grace she cooks up a scheme to find Beauregard a new home. She also gets real employment, helping to care for an elderly lady named Petunia.

In the process of carrying out her plans, she learns some lessons about judging people and about the value of honesty. But the best lesson she learns is that the most rewarding love comes from giving instead of taking, or, as John Lennon sang, “in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

There are happy endings for all, including Beauregard.

Charlotte has admirable qualities: she is compassionate and hard-working, yet she seems like a real girl. It’s not a difficult book, but the plot is involved enough to retain the interest of a pre-teen audience.½

Marlane Kennedy has written a lovely, funny story about a young girl who wants to grow a giant pumpkin in honor of her deceased mother. The story centers around the Circleville Pumpkin show here in central Ohio. This book is great for anyone looking for a fresh new voice for girls ages 7-10.

The best parts of this book were the ones about growing giant pumpkins. It's easy to see the author did her homework on the topic. The story was alright, but a few things bothered me: Mildred didn't always sound 11 years old—saying things like "to no avail," when it wasn't part of her character to be precocious. A few parts weren't really necessary and slowed the story down, like stepping the reader through every single thing Mildred does when she gets home from school one day. And finally, there were a few things that didn't feel resolved, like a mention of how the dad and his co-worker should go on a date but it's never mentioned again. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this unless you're really into pumpkins.½

Mildred, 11 years old, mother has died of cancer, close friend Jacob, determined to grow giant pumpkin, Aunt Arlene buys clothes, father is veterinarian, notes about how to grow giant pumpkin, 1401 pounds, Pumpkin Show in Circleville, Ohio

To honor her Mom, eleven-year-old Mildred is determined to win the Circleville, Ohio, Pumpkin Show and fulfill a dream left undone by her mother's untimely death. However, with each passing season, something goes inherently wrong and her dreams are dashed again and again. Aunt Arlene is more than a bit concerned about Mildred's apparent obsession with pumpkins and tries, in her overtly pushy way, to persuade her niece to pursue more feminine interests, such as makeup and fancy clothing. Thankfully, Mildred's dad doesn't agree with Auntie Arlene and continues to support his daughter and her individual dreams. Knowing and understanding his only daughter in ways that only a father can, he is able to challenge Mildred to take her future into her own hands and follow her heart with unbridled passion. Thus allowing herself to grow into the incredible young woman her mother always knew she would one day become.

Kennedy's attention to detail proves this to be a well-researched novel that introduces readers to the relatively unknown competitions that require much more than good seeds and luck to produce a thousand pound champion. Well crafted and heartwarming, the characters could easily be members of your own family or next door neighbors. The narrative reads like a family tale told over a huge dinner, with lots of laughs, a few tears and the busybody aunt that always means well but just can't quite find the right way to express herself without appearing... well, pushy. This is a coming of age tale that will be enjoyed by all, despite their age. A magical journey that is more about Mildred's inner growth than that of her pumpkins. Chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection, Marlane Kennedy's solo debut, Me and the Pumpkin Queen is a first place read.

Happy Reading!
RJ xx

Oscar Egg goes to live with his father in Boston. Oscar never really knew where his father lived, he gets a huge surprise. His father lives under the famous Fenway Park!
Oscar soon finds out that his father and his aunts are all fairies and the Cursed Creatures of Fenway Park. Now Oscar has his heart set on breaking the curse. There’s no turning back now. At the same time Oscar wishes that his parents would get back together. Will Oscar save the Cursed Creatures?

I loved this book so much! I learned a whole bunch about baseball. I loved the characters. The story was so clear and great. I loved how Julianna Baggott had a whole bunch of HUGE baseball greats (Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and more.) help Oscar.

I definitely will recommend this book to everyone I know!