Sharon M. Harvey
Outskirts Press (2010)
ISBN 9781432712143
Reviewed by Evan Weldon (age 8) for Reader Views (12/10)
“Legend of the Pumpkin Carver” by Sharon M. Harvey is about a mysterious pumpkin patch in the village of Indian Springs. Nobody knows who plants the pumpkins each year. Even more mysterious, nobody knows who carves the names of the village children into the growing pumpkins.
Ever since Elvira was a child someone has been planting pumpkins in the dirt patch near her mansion. Now Elvira is an old lady and all the village children are wondering if she is a witch. How else would the pumpkins get carved with the kids’ names? The children go to talk with Elvira and she tells them that it has been a mystery as long as she can remember. She does not plant the pumpkins but she nurtures and waters them once they appear. Long ago, the other children’s grandmothers along with Elvira had tried to catch the Pumpkin Carver in the act but had failed. Their parents, too, had tried to catch the Pumpkin Carver and failed. Now it was their turn to try. Will they succeed or will they, too, fail?
The story itself is really pretty good but too wordy. It was a kind of sweet story about how the whole village came together because of the legend and how they decided to thank the unknown Pumpkin Carver.
I would recommend “Legend of the Pumpkin Carver” to people who want a happy Halloween mystery.
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