Pumpkins from the Sky?: A Cobtown Story - Hardcover

Julia and Robert Van Nutt have been working together for twenty-five years. During this time, they have worked on numerous design jobs, from freelancing for The New York Times to working on sets and costumes for a Broadway play. In the last ten years, they have designed eight children’s books and six animated videos that were shown on national television.
The Van Nutts use history to guide them as they write and illustrate their Cobtown stories. With an amazing cast of characters and an in-depth study of everyday life in the 1840s, these stories–inspired by a hobby of collecting electric trains–take place in the village of Cobtown.

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Ten-year-old Lucky Hart's diary entries record the preparations and excitement in the days leading up to the 1845 Cobtown Harvest Festival. A frightful storm has blown down Aunt Heddy's old elm tree and made her pumpkin patch inaccessible. The elderly woman is in a panic because she has promised to bake pies for the pie-eating contest and to supply pumpkins for the pumpkin race. Then, magically, Heddy opens her back door on the morning of the festival and finds pumpkins piled up all over the backyard. How did they get there? Professor McGinty raises the theory that they rained down from the sky. The lovely illustrations lend a distinct autumnal atmosphere to the story and set readers firmly in the country. The text is easily understandable and can be enjoyed by a wide audience. A warmhearted and festive selection to be enjoyed throughout the year.
John A. Clexton, Detroit Public Library, MI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.