Linda White (1)

A very sweet story about an elderly woman, Rebecca Estelle; she hates pumpkins, but ends up with lots of them growing in her yard!

There are many lists in this book (all of the ingredients for pumpkin pie are given, for example) and repetition (all the ways Rebecca Estelle's family ate pumpkins growing up are shared). I also enjoyed the "hooks" on many pages, which kept the reader in suspense for a few seconds until the sentence was finished on the following page.

My nieces loved this one! (They're 7, 5 and 3.)… (mehr)

The story Too Many Pumpkins shows readers how to take adversity and frustration and turn it into something wonderful. 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 will not have to see or think about it again. One morning, while admiring the new sprouts in her garden, Rebecca Estelle noticed her cat playing in some big leaves growing at the edge of her yard. When she goes over to inspect them, she realizes that they are pumpkins. Disgusted, Rebecca Estelle states, “I will not water those plants. I will not tend them. I will ignore them, and they will die.” All spring and summer, she never looked out the front window or gland at in the direction of the vines when she was outside. Despite her efforts to get rid of the pumpkins, Rebecca Estelle wakes up one fall morning to hundreds of pumpkins in her yard. Rebecca decides she will give the pumpkins away, so she wheels the pumpkins into her house, so she can make them into treats. After spending hours baking pies, tarts, and bread, Rebecca Estelle is too tired to deliver anything. Rebecca Estelle then gets an idea. She uses the remaining pumpkins in her yard to carve jack-o-lanterns. She places them in her front yard hoping that people will stop in for a treat as they drive by. Everyone in the town came to Rebecca Estelle’s house. When they ready to go home, she made sure each carried a jack-o-lantern, a bag of seeds for roasting, and a pumpkin treat. Once everyone left, all she had left was a handful of seeds that she decided she would save until planting time next year. Although Rebecca Estelle hated that pumpkins grew in her yard, she turned her frustration into something beautiful- making pumpkin treats and carving jack-o-lanterns for all of her neighbors.… (mehr)