PUMPKIN DAD

Sometimes spells go awry.

Ellis, an impish, red-haired tot dressed as a witch, loves Halloween. Errant wand waves and a barrage of “Abracadabras” wake Dad from his nap as Ellis marches into the room. But Dad is a little rascally as well and decides to play a trick. While Ellis isn’t looking, Dad puts a large pumpkin on the chair and hides. Ellis glances over, distraught: “Oh no. I turned my dad into a pumpkin!” Quick as a wink, Ellis loads the pumpkin onto a bike, intending to rush it to the hospital; Dad tries to call out that it was a joke, but Ellis speeds off. On the way, however, the pumpkin falls and rolls into a pumpkin festival. In the large sea of orange gourds, how is Ellis to figure out which one is Dad? A string of silly circumstances follows, with Ellis calling out warnings to various confused festivalgoers: “Oh no, no, please don’t doodle on my dad!” “Oh no, no, please don’t cook my dad!” Lemaître’s jovial plot recalls William Steig’s work, while his expressive ink-lined characters are a pleasure to watch. Goofy humor and quick quips help this tale bounce merrily from one vignette to the next. Both Ellis and Dad are pale-skinned; their town is diverse.

Readers will relish being in on the autumnal joke the whole time.