Day 15 of Summer 2019 #Bookaday Challenge: The Pumpkin War

Vlog Transcript Below

Slide 1: Hi! My name is Kate Narita. This is day fifteen of my summer 2019 #Bookaday Challenge. Today I will be talking about The Pumpkin War by Cathleen Young.

Slide 2: I recommend reading The Pumpkin War for the following reasons: it celebrates the Midwest, the setting is as vibrant as a character, it examines what happens when friends compete with one another, it asks why we don’t hear more about women in science and it celebrates aspects of the Ojibwe culture.

Slide 3: When I think about authors who celebrate the Midwest, I think about Richard Peck. In A Year Down Yonder, Mary Alice spends a whole year living with her grandmother. Each chapter is a different month. Cathleen Young numbers her chapters, she doesn’t title them; however, the book is split into four sections. Each one is a different month. So there’s June, July, August and September. 

Slide 4: Another reason why I recommend The Pumpkin War is that the setting is as vibrant as a character. When I think about other vibrant settings in books, I think about Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King. If you like books where you feel like you actually know the place, you definitely want to check out Me and Marvin Gardens.

Slide 5: I also mentioned that The Pumpkin War examines what happens when friends are competitive with one another. The same tension happens in Midsummer’s Mayhem; however, Mimi is a much more attractive character than Billie is in The Pumpkin War. In fact, Billie is so competitive is almost ruins her friendship with her best friend; however, what’s wonderful about The Pumpkin War is that we really get to see Billie’s growth when she realizes how her competitiveness is ruining her friendship. The author writes, “I mean, even the stars take turns. In summer, Vega shines the brightest. In winter, Sirius shines the brightest.
        As I asked myself these questions, I began to look in my own mirror.
        And I didn’t like what I saw.”
So, we really get to see a powerful transformation with Billie in The Pumpkin War.

Slide 6: I also mentioned that The Pumpkin War questions why we don’t hear more about women in science. A great book to read to find out more about women in science is Jeannine Atkins’ lovely lyrical Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science. In the book Jeannine introduces readers to Maria Merriam who discovered metamorphosis, Mary Anning who discovered fossils in England and Maria Mitchell who discovered a new comet.

Slide 7: If you want to find out more about women in science, but you don’t have time to read a novel, you can find out more about two of these women in these picture book biographies. One is also by Jeannine, it’s Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon. The other one is The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merriam’s Art Changed Science and that’s by Joyce Sidman.

Slide 8: I also mentioned that The Pumpkin War celebrates aspects of the Ojibwe culture. If you are looking for a picture book that celebrates aspects of a different Native American culture, you should check out Traci Sorell’s We Are Grateful: Otsalihega. This book focuses on the Cherokee culture, it received four starred reviews and won the Sibert Honor.