SuitabookFamily responsibility and connection
Lottie looks after family members while her mother struggles and her grandfather has withdrawn after losing his wife; the shared pumpkin project brings Lottie and Gramps together.
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Book details
Katie Smith - Author
Expect a warm, humorous story built around Lottie's plan to grow a giant pumpkin with her grandfather. Its comic elements sit alongside school bullying, family strain, bereavement, illness and Lottie's responsibilities at home.
Book Brief
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Sign in for personalised guidanceExpect a warm, humorous story built around Lottie's plan to grow a giant pumpkin with her grandfather. Its comic elements sit alongside school bullying, family strain, bereavement, illness and Lottie's responsibilities at home.
Lottie looks after family members while her mother struggles and her grandfather has withdrawn after losing his wife; the shared pumpkin project brings Lottie and Gramps together.
Penelope is described as a school bully and recurring winner; Lottie enters the Big and Small project hoping to compete despite feeling disadvantaged.
Consider whether your child would welcome a story in which a school-age character faces several pressures at once. You could pause around the bullying and family circumstances rather than treating the competition as the only focus.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the book’s treatment of its main themes is not yet firm enough; some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
The Pumpkin Project by Katie Smith – Mrs Cleveland is reading…
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Checked: 22 September 2026.
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