Some Ghouls Do

Halloween. There is probably no better holiday. Okay, I am not into the spooky aspects of the day, but the fun and child-like qualities of the holiday is what get my spirit flying. And, of course, CANDY!

And Stumpkin has all the fun of the holiday. This pumpkin is perfect: rounder than a basketball, more orange than a traffic cone, not any bad sides! However, he has one small flaw: he has a stump and not a steam. Therefore, nobody wants him to be their jack-o-lantern. Until (spoiler) the end when he finds the perfect home. The themes of “being yourself” and “being happy for who you are” are obvious. The fact, also, that home is where the heart is also obvious. There is nothing new to this book. The story has been told before. Perhaps even with the Halloween theme.

Lucy Ruth Cummins has a signature style and it comes out in her books. Her books This is Not a Valentine and A Hungry Lion, or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals have not been my favorites. I did not realize she was the same author. I am a little curious about her book The Taking Tree: A Selfish Parody, yet I am not going to go out of my way to find it.

As always, I appreciate the hard work and time that went into making this book. I also know, having talked to my coworkers that this book is a lot like Stumpkin: not everyone wants Stumpkin as their pumpkin and not everyone is going to love this book; but as the song goes, “Some Ghouls do.”