cover image The Very Best Pumpkin

The Very Best Pumpkin

Mark Kimball Moulton, illus. by Karen Hillard Good, S&S/Wiseman, $12.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-8288-3

In warm watercolor spreads, stained with coffee and bleach to folksy, weathered effect, a boy grows pumpkins on a farm with his family. When he finds a pumpkin alone in a field, he tends to it, too, and his shy neighbor, Meg, secretly observes. When it's time to find homes for the pumpkins, Peter gives Meg the field pumpkin and "just like the pumpkins, their friendship grew and grew and grew." A sweet, drama-free tale of friendship for those seeking softer Halloween fare. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)