"Singer and Shleifer spin a charismatic story-within-a-story in which collaborative narration yields a pumpkin-led fairy tale. Multimedia illustrations with velvet-textured coloring embrace a black light-like effect for scenes depicting the pumpkin's arc. The result is a kindhearted chronicle that infuses the pale-skinned duo's creativity-fueled connection with enchantment."-- Publishers Weekly "Singer's comical offering is more than the tale of an oddly shaped pumpkin; it is a story about storytelling. Lulu finds her grandmother's improvised bedtime yarn about an ugly pumpkin uninspiring, so Lulu decides to help Grandma tell better stories. Through insightful questions, prompts, and critiques, Lulu helps Grandma lengthen and improve the story until its pumpkin transforms into a girl who grows up to be a fairy godmother who, in turn, grants the wishes of pumpkins everywhere. This fictional girl also happens to grow up to be a grandmother who grants her granddaughter's wish to be told stories every night. Bright, whimsical illustrations match the quirkiness of the text.
The pumpkins and people alike have expressive eyes, and the pumpkin theme carries through in Lulu and Grandma's vibrant orange hair. The dark page background used for the pumpkin tale allows its details to stand out and creates a marked contrast with Lulu's colorful bedroom. In the end, this joint storytelling project brings Lulu and Grandma even closer together." --Booklist "Heartwarming and creative, this story reminds us all that the act of weaving a narrative is a joyous, and communal one!"-- Booked in Evanston, IL (Edelweiss review) "Lulu knows that her grandma has the potential to tell her some good stories, but she needs to help her out with the details about the life and times of a very unusual pumpkin. Certainly vibrant and creative, as well as adorable."-- Ridgecrest Books, Seattle, WA (Edelweiss review) "Love that the grandma learns how to tell better stories through this adorable picture book." --A Novel Escape, Franklin, NC (Edelweiss review).