SuitabookThe pumpkin project
Katie Smith
- Reading
- Read alongside your child if the combination of bullying, family disruption and illness may need discussion. Keep the gardening adventure as an entry point, then check how Lottie’s responsibilities and relationships are portrayed.
- Themes
- Family responsibility and connection: Lottie looks after family members while her mother struggles and her grandfather has withdrawn after losing his wife; the shared pumpkin project brings Lottie and Gramps together. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Bullying and competition: Penelope is described as a school bully and recurring winner; Lottie enters the Big and Small project hoping to compete despite feeling disadvantaged. The setup contrasts Lottie's determination with Penelope's behaviour and alleged parental influence, but it does not establish how the book judges competition, privilege or the eventual outcome.
- Illness and resilience: One account identifies illness as one of the story's issues and describes the book as involving determination and resilience. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- 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.