Freak369's Full Review: Eve Bunting - The Pumpkin Fair
After I read "In The Haunted House" I started to do some research about the author, Eve Bunting, and found that she had a few other Halloween titles to her credit. When I saw the listing for “The Pumpkin Fair” I ordered it sight unseen from someone on Amazon.com. After reading the description I was really interested in checking it out and if it was half as good as “In The Haunted House” then I was sure I wouldn’t be disappointed. I never expected it to be as entertaining or as interesting as it turned out to be. Much like the previously mentioned book, this one is written in a huge rhyme, which makes it a complete howl for kids to read. The last book was illustrated by Susan Meddaugh but this one features the artwork of Eileen Christelow. They are light, cheerful and really add a lot of depth to what you are reading and most of them look like they are from the pages of a “Where’s Waldo” book because there is so much to them.
The Pumpkin Fair
It’s October 298, the day of the big pumpkin fair. There are big ones, little ones and ones carved like animals but amongst all the pumpkins there is one that is very special. It’s not the biggest or the smallest and it’s not even the prettiest but it is the one that’s loved the most because the owner thinks that it is the most special pumpkin of all. Mister Pumpkin makes his way through the crowd and the Peter Pumpkin band is really quite loud. There’s a Pumpkin Princess and pumpkin bowling, pumpkin basketball and pumpkin seed spitting. Throughout the day and into the night, pumpkins are everywhere, it’s really a sight! You see the little girl holding her pumpkin close, never letting it slip, never letting it loose. She thinks the pumpkin is special because it’s a little different and no matter what anyone says, to her its perfect.
One of the nicest things about the book is there is so much to take in from the illustrations and you can’t help but smile when you are reading it. The biggest surprise is when the Pumpkin Master calls out the little girl’s name. “The best loved pumpkin at the fair, the best loved pumpkin anywhere!”. It turns out that during the day people had spotted her with her little pumpkin and saw how much she cared about it – how she loved it regardless of what other people said about it. That’s why she was awarded that special little ribbon – for the best loved pumpkin anywhere. The festivities close out after everyone takes one last look at all the different pumpkins – “Good night, good night! Sleep tight! Take Care! See you at next year’s pumpkin fair!”.
There is a real feeling of “community” in the book; everyone is having a good time playing games, eating pumpkin related foods and celebrating the joys of a good harvest of, well, pumpkins. It’s a feel good kind of book that departs from the usual Halloween presentation of scary or spooky things. The text is easy to read and there aren’t any huge complicated words. I’d suggest this for kids six through nine but kids younger might like to have this read to them and older kids might get a laugh from some of the rhymes. Eve Bunting did a great job with the story and once again, I have to give high kudos to Eileen Christelow for the drawings.
My Take
In a lot of ways this book reminded me of Weslandia - an awesome story of a kid that never seemed to fit in anywhere. This book is great for kids that are feeling a little left out of things – maybe they don’t have many friends or they look different from everyone else – regardless, it shows that you don’t have to fit into some cookie cutter mold to be accepted and loved. Just be yourself and if people don’t like it then it is truly their loss. Well, that’s my take on it, you might read it and get something completely different from it. When Annabelle and I read this after it arrived she gave me this little look, sort of like she wanted to ask a question but couldn’t figure out exactly how to put it into words. About an hour later she asked me if the book was like what she went through when people teased her about carrying her bear around with her. I smiled and said “yes”, then she picked up her ratty, torn, worn out, scruffy, partially bald teddy bear and whispered in his ear “See Mr. Bear, you are perfect too”.
The Bottom Line
I really hate to read a lot into kids books – they are supposed to be fun and entertaining and sometimes teach a little lesson here and there but this one is a cut above the rest in that area. Just because something is a little different or strange doesn’t mean it isn’t special. Sure it’s just a kids story about a warty pumpkin that most people would have hacked to pieces for pie but this little girl [who’s name is never mentioned] loves it nonetheless. As I mentioned, the illustrations in it are fantastic to look at; they add so much to the story – you can spend a lot of time checking them out and the next time you read through it you’ll find even more stuff. One thing Annabelle loved was trying to count all the pumpkins on the pages – some of them go into the fifty and sixties – a fun thing for kids to do but it can drive a grown up insane. There are no scary things in this book but it definitely has a Halloween theme to it but I guess it could also try to slide this in for a Thanksgiving read if you don’t dwell on the fact that everyone has costumes on.
From pumpkin bowling to a pumpkin pull, the young narrator of this bouncy story enjoys a fun-filled trip to the pumpkin-est fair ever. Now available i...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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