Review 20: Pumpkin Bunch

By Peter E. Tucker
Illustrations by MikeMotz.com

$ 26.90 Hard cover
$ 16.30 Paperback
$ 5.00 Download

32 pages full color

ISBN: 978-0-615-21675-1

All of the pumpkins in Pumpkins Ville are disappearing and the pumpkin farmers are worried about not being able to support their families because unless they find the pumpkin thieves, they will have no crops for sale. Lilly overhears her father and is determined to do something to help him capture the pumpkin thieves. So, Lilly waits until her family has fallen asleep and then sneaks out of the house and goes down to the pond where the largest pumpkins are to wait for the pumpkin thieves. Her plan is to wait until they show up and then scream for her father to come and catch them.

Lilly began to feel very sleepy. Snuggling up next to the pumpkin, she had almost fallen asleep when, suddenly, the huge pumpkin began moving and shaking back and forth. Lilly looked around. No one was there, just she and the pumpkin. Shaking faster and faster, it started sinking into the ground! Lilly quickly grabbed the pumpkin stem and, as she did, the pumpkin started to fall into the earth. She held tightly; she was not going to let it go. Down they both went. Deeper and deeper into the Earth they fell. Faster and faster they both fell. Then, all of a sudden, they were slowly falling through a bright blue sky. They landed on a mound of hay, surrounded by tall grass, in a field. The sun shined above and the sky was a deep blue. Lilly looked around and saw two pumpkins that appeared to be running away from her. These pumpkins had legs, arms and faces! They were trying to get away.

Lilly had just fallen into Pumpkin Bunch Land, where the residents are pumpkins, and they live in houses that look like pumpkins, and they are the ones who are stealing Lilly’s father’s pumpkins. One of the pumpkin people, JayJay, who was trying to run away after Lilly fell through the sky, stops when Lilly asks him to and becomes her guide to Pumpkin Bunch Land. Lilly and JayJay set off to find the King of Pumpkin Bunch Land, but JayJay tells her they must hide from the Jaspers or there will be pumpkins to pay. The Jaspers turn out to be giant rats who have taken over Pumpkin Bunch Land and have enslaved the pumpkin people. If the people do not provide fresh pumpkins for the Jaspers on a daily basis, the Jaspers will eat them. When Lilly meets the King, she is hailed as Princess Lilly Pad of whom it was foretold that she would fall from the sky to save their kingdom.

The King sat in an enormous chair made of pumpkin and began to tell Lilly about how it was written that a princess would fall from the sky and save Pumpkin Bunch Land. He said to Lilly, “You must find the four-leaf clover, pluck it from the ground, and save it in your pocket. When you do this, you will have the powers of the Wizard. It is also written that you will be able to restore the kingdom back to the throne, but you cannot look the Wizard in the eyes. If you do, he will know what you are doing and take the magic from you. Lilly, you must overtake the Wizard without him knowing.”

Lilly chooses JayJay as her consort, and they go off in search of the four-leaf clover and the wizard so they can take back the King’s wand. Lilly and JayJay have to overcome many obstacles, including being attacked by Jaspers, in order to free the kingdom of Pumpkin Bunch Land.

I enjoyed the underlying tale of Pumpkin Bunch, however, found some of the writing a little repetitive. While some repetition is good in a children’s book, it is usually better in the learn to read books, and less necessary in the read-to-me books. Peter Tucker used the illustrative talents of MikeMotz.com, who was featured previously on the LL Book Review, and the illustrations help to move the tale along in a marvelous way. I enjoyed the illustrations so much, that I went to the website and checked out the options that were available. MikeMotz.com has a wealth of information available for self-publishing children’s book authors as well as several illustrative styles to choose from. To give you an additional glimpse of the illustrations in Pumpkin Bunch, below is the illustration for the chapter, Lilly Meets the Jaspers.

Pumpkin Bunch is a fast moving read-to-me tale with lots of adventure to delight a young listener.

Reviewed for the LL Book Review.
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LK Gardner-Griffie
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