Pumpkin Time!

July 28, 2014
In author/agent Deàk’s kooky harvest-themed story, an overalls-clad girl named Evy doesn’t have her head in the clouds, but rather in the soil. Cushman (Pigmares) shows Evy planting seeds, dressing a scarecrow, and harvesting vegetables while rambunctious farm animals frolic throughout the year: “The day the sheep picnicked on the neighbor’s lawn... Evy didn’t see a thing. (What was Evy doing?)” Not donkeys sailing through the sky nor Halloween festivities can distract Evy from her work: “When ghosts and goblins danced door-to-door all night long” (the ensemble includes a sheep dressed as a vampire, a pig in a mummy costume, and a horse witch), Evy is carrying the harvested vegetables indoors. Hard work and commitment pay off for the avid gardener, and readers should appreciate seeing her finally enjoy the fruits of her labor—in the form of pumpkin pie—with the animals. Ages 4–8. Agent: Erzsi Deàk, Hen&ink.

June 15, 2014
A celebration of gardening and the harvest doesn't quite deliver a full-grown story.Evy is so preoccupied by gardening that she fails to notice a series of absurd, seasonally linked oddities taking place around her. A bevy of farm animals participates in these happenings, which include cows parading down the street in fancy hats that seem like Easter bonnets, donkeys sailing through the sky in sailboats, pigs dancing around a maypole, and chickens, rabbits and pigs playing badminton. Evy doesn't notice any of these things going on around her, and the repeated parenthetical phrase "(What was Evy doing?)" prompts readers to find her performing various gardening tasks from page to page. Ultimately, two wordless spreads show readers that Evy was preparing a big harvest feast, with what looks like a pumpkin pie as the main dish, but this culmination feels anticlimactic due to the lack of concluding text as well as the revealing title and cover art. A final page shows Evy looking ahead to next year's planting and harvesting season. While certainly silly, the picture book's appeal is undermined by its lack of cohesion, and the comical watercolor-and-ink illustrations don't add enough narrative content to bolster the repetitive text.Other, stronger picture books on this theme abound. (recipes, pumpkin facts) (Picture book. 2-4)

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August 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 1-Evy is up to something. Her distraction starts in the spring. She's so engrossed in her books and work that she overlooks the most unusual occurrences around her-cows parading in fancy hats, donkeys sailing across the sky, and sheep having a picnic. In summer, Evy doesn't notice the buckets literally falling from the sky or the animals playing badminton. In autumn, sweaters fall from above and animals stomp grapes. Page after page, the text asks, "What was Evy doing?" Attentive readers will pick up on the obvious clues, as the child is often depicted farming and researching pumpkins. In late autumn, all of the animals gather and Evy finally unveils her hard work: a huge pumpkin pie. The watercolor and ink illustrations feature abundant visual puns and incorporate pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns into the scenes, and the endpapers feature fun facts and recipes.-Laura Hunter, Mount Laurel Library, NJ

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