Ready for Pumpkins

by Kate Duke

A classroom guinea pig finds a way to plant his own garden in this funny tale of pumpkins and patience.
 
After watching the first graders grow plants from seeds, Hercules, the class guinea pig, is inspired. He wants to grow things, too!
 
With the help of a rabbit named Daisy, Hercules plants his seeds and waits. And waits and waits. . . . He learns that growing things takes more than seeds and soil, sun and rain. It takes patience. But sometimes having to wait makes the reward even sweeter.
 
“Duke’s story brims with humor of both the classroom and animal-buddy varieties, and her featherlight paintings capture every ounce of Herky’s enthusiasm, impatience, and eventual satisfaction.” — PW, starred review

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Gardening, Holiday, Halloween, School

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Duke was born in New York City on August 1, 1956. She had said that reading was a favorite pastime all through childhood, and in an interview for Something About the Author noted that Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy was a fictional character she modeled, right down to keeping tabs on the people in her neighborhood. “I think I owe Harriet my first conscious awareness of the act of writing as important and meaningful work,” she said.

She attended Duke University in the mid 1970s and also took art classes in New York City, which helped solidify her growing ambition to create picture books. Her first book, The Guinea Pig ABC (Dutton) was published in 1983 and received warm accolades for its humor and inventiveness. She followed up her debut with Guinea Pigs Far and Near (Dutton, 1984) and several other titles starring the popular critters. Duke went on to craft more than 20 picture books, writing and illustrating her own work, as well as providing illustrations for other authors including Joanna Cole and William Hooks. Duke married cartoonist Sidney Harris in 1985.

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this cute fantasy story, a guinea pig learns about patience (and pumpkins!) when he decides to start his own garden dedicated to his favorite gourd.

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Herky, the first grade class guinea pig, knows he is very lucky. He has all the food and water he could want and a classroom full of kids who love to teach him things. But then Herky watches the kids plant seeds and as the days pass the seeds grow into green beans! Now Herky knows what he wants: a garden! Luckily, Herky spends every summer at a farm in the country and luckily he’s saved some pumpkin seeds from the class pumpkin carving last year. With the help of his new friend Daisy, the rabbit, Herky plants, waters, and impatiently waits for his seeds to grow into pumpkins. Although he has to go back to the classroom before the pumpkins are done growing, he’s very busy with the new first graders and luckily, he knows he can grow more pumpkins next year.

Duke’s book is targeted at the lower elementary grades that have had the experience of a class pet. The text is written from Herky’s point of view and comments are added in speech bubbles throughout the story. The watercolor, pen, and ink illustrations are realistic and soft. Herky is drawn in Duke’s classic guinea pig style and it’s amazing how much personality and emotional expression Duke is able to convey with two dot eyes and a wiggly nose. The passing of time matches up correctly with pumpkin planting and harvesting times.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hercules (Herkie) is a cute tri-colored classroom guinea pig who takes an interest in gardening one summer. While he’s on vacation, he plants some pumpkin seeds with the help of Daisy the rabbit, and waits rather impatiently for his garden to grow. Herkie is so excited when the plants sprout and even gets a little over-protective – chastising Daisy when she eats a few of the flowers. He learns to “cool it” and lets the birds, and bugs, and other creatures be – finding satisfaction in their enjoyment (as well as his own) of the plants.

Kids will be able to relate to Herkie’s experiences with his first garden (and may even learn some patience and tolerance along the way). Sharing the harvest and understanding that not everything can be controlled (or should be) are valuable lessons for everyone. Herkie the guinea pig packages them in a very palatable way. Lots of good material here.

Excerpt:
So I cooled it. The beetles ate some more holes, the birds kept pecking, and Daisy sometimes had a flower snack – but there was enough for all of us. Sometimes I had a flower snack, too.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much to love about this book! A class pet story (from the perspective of the pet). A gardening story (from the perspective of an impatient young gardener). A story of life cycles, patience and wisdom that is as cute as pie.

"A garden is not a place to be angry in." Indeed.

This author/illustrator lacks talent in neither area. The pictures have a wonderfully classic feel and the story is a gem.

This story has a lot of heart and is sure to be a classroom favorite.

[Colby Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope that Hercules the class guinea pig has some more adventures.

[Taylor Meier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ready for Pumpkins by Kate Duke was a book about a class pet named Hercules. Hercules loved being in Miss. McGuffey's first grade classroom. He learned a lot about pumpkins and he longed to make his own garden. When it was summer vacation, he finally had the chance. He made a friend named Daisy, who helped him plant his garden. When Hercules wanted his pumpkins to grow faster, he stomped and yelled. Daisy told him to calm down, so he did. Finally, his pumpkins grew, and his friends started to eat the leaves. Hercules was so upset, then Daisy once again told him to calm down, so he did. Hercules learned that you can't be upset in a garden! When Hercules returned to school for the next year, he was very excited to meet his new friends, however, he couldn't wait to get back to his garden. This book is one that I can see myself reading in my future elementary classroom because it emphasizes patience! I feel that patience is something to teach children early because they will need it all of their lives. This book is one that I feel the students will also be able to relate to because everyone is really excited to try something new, especially something that you know you would be good at doing.

[Becca Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute little book about a guinea pig that was a class pet. He enjoyed being included in the classroom activities, but it made him jealous that he didnt get to help plant the vegetatables in the spring. When it was summer and the teacher took him home with her, he decided to escape his cage and plant a pumpkin in the garden outside. He learned that pumpkins take patience and there is nothing you can do to make them grow fast. In the end he went back to school and the pumpkin wasn't finished growing yet, but he got to hear pumpkin stories and poem in the classroom.

[Jennifer Heise]

A classroom hamster finds out about gardening, and with the help of a bunny friend at his summer home, starts a garden there, specifically to grow pumpkins. It's hard to wait for things to grow, but eventually he has plants, blossoms and even growing pumpkin fruit. He has to go back to school before the pumpkins are ripe, but his summer host, puzzled by the pumpkin patch, brings the pumpkins into the classroom when they are ripe.

Good for talking about growing and how long things take to grow, and how fun it is to garden. Suitable for pumpkin season as well.

[Kiersten Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Ready for Pumpkins" is the story of a school pet guinea pig who lives on a farm over the summer. The guinea pig is very interested in how beans grow from a seed, and tries out his own planting of a pumpkin with a rabbit he befriended. This book teaches students about the planting cycle and how patience is key.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hercules - Herky for short - was a happy guinea pig who lived in a first grade classroom. Here he learned lots of things, but the one he loved most was about growing things. That summer he got his chance to try it for himself, which shows children that they can help in gardens. Cute story with fun illustrations.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this wonderful book that not only tells a fun, engaging story but also introduces children to the life cycle of pumpkins! It is a great resource to engage young children in scientific concepts.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, the illustrations were adorable, and the story helped talk about how pumpkins grow. I am looking for books though for toddlers, and this was just too long for them. It would be great for a lower elementary group of kids.

[Katie Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how this book showed the life cycle of a pumpkin without being your typical informational text for this age group. It captivated my kids and was a great story to read aloud. Overall, a well rounding story about growth, patience, and the life cycle of a plant.

[Goshen PL Childrens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for a younger crowd! We read it for a 1st Grade class trip. They were going to the pumpkin patch later that day.

[Valencia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story! The illustrations are adorable.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ages: 4 - 7

Cleanliness: a few pictures with jack-o-lanterns and mentions Halloween. The guinea pig throws two fits.

#fall #autumn

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great non-Halloween pumpkin/fall book.

6/19/18 Read with Naomi, Julia, & Simon

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really sweet and cute book with great illustrations.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love books about 'surprise' pumpkins growing in places as we have had this happen at our house.

[sincerely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but wouldn't buy it as a gift or reread

[Collin Duax]

This book was clever. The class guinea pig plants pumpkins in class.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hercules the guinea pig plants pumpkin seeds on summer vacation, and he takes readers through the life-cycle of a pumpkin. M liked it.

[Nanny B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the story!
Fun, colorful illustrations

[Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book about a class guinea pig that starts a garden.
I love the focus on regulating your emotions.

[Terri Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this! What a charming book! Hercules-you can call him Herky- is the official guinea pig pet of the first grade. He lives comfortably in a large home in the 1st grade classroom and is happy that the food, water, clean bedding, and love from the teacher and her students come regularly. One day he sees the students planting seeds in the classroom. The seeds grow into things like green beans which Herky likes to eat. The kids make a Herky O'Lantern with a pumpkin Herky climbs into and before the teacher can make them remove him, he manages to get some seeds. Now Herky wants to grow a garden of his own. Over the summer he gets his chance- the teacher leaves Herky with her dad in the country during the summer on a farm, Herky has pumpkin seeds, there is a friendly bunny named Daisy who knows all about gardens and Herky knows how to undo latches on his home! What could happen next? You'll have to read it to see what wonderful things happen in the summer-and the fall-when Herky becomes a gardener. I love the story and the illustrations are lovely.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hercules, or Herky for short, learned a lot being the classroom guinea pig in Miss MacGuffey’s first grade. He learned to paint, he learned about Halloween, but best of all, he learned that he could plant a garden from seeds. And Herky had seeds from the Halloween pumpkin that he had saved in his cage. So when he was taken for the summer out to the country, he knew he just had to plant his own garden. He met Daisy, a rabbit, who helped him find a sunny place to plant the seeds. Herky dug up the dirt, planted the seeds, and watered them. But then he had to be patient as they grew, and that was the hardest part! The plants grew, flowers appeared, and finally pumpkins. But Herky had to return to school before they turned orange! Will he ever know how his pumpkins turned out?

Read the rest of my review on my blog, Waking Brain Cells.

[RC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books has more to it than meets the eye. What looks like a simple, sweet story about a guinea pig living in a first-grade classroom watching a pumpkin grow, is actually a look at the emotions linked to waiting. Hercules is a guinea pig living in Miss MacGuffey's classroom. He loves his life in the classroom, watching the children play. But when then children start their project of growing things, Hercules gets jealous and wants a garden of his own. On summer vacation, with the help of some animal friends, he plants his garden. He experiences frustration and anger as his project takes longer than he thought. When his plants begin growing, Hercules is happy. He has to go back to the classroom in the fall, and is sad to leave his new garden friends, but is happier than ever in the classroom.
It is a book that really works to address the social and emotional aspects of school and projects and does so eloquently and light-heartedly from the perspective of Hercules.

[Sarah Best · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herky is a classroom pet guinea pig who is the center of this story. When the children were carving pumpkins, Herky took some pumpkin seeds of his very own to plant. He planted his seeds in a garden in the summer and slowly watched them grow. When Herky returned to the classroom the following year, he was happy to see that his pumpkins were there too. This story can teach children about gardens and how pumpkins grow. This is an excellent story to read during the Fall and can go along with a pumpkin activity.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute story! Herky, short for Hercules, is a guinea pig in a first grade classroom. He decides he wants to grow a garden when the first graders grow bean seeds. During summer vacation he goes his umber home and he plants pumpkin seeds with the help of a rabbit named Daisy. He learns bout being patient and understanding that animals sometimes need rafts o this pumpkin plant to eat. "A garden is not a place to be angry in". A good story for the process of growing plants.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herky, the class guinea pig, has a great life. When the class plants seeds right next to his cage, and Herky sees what's growing, he wants a garden of his own. So when the class carves pumpkins, Herky saves some of the seeds. That summer when he is taken to his summer home, he plants a garden and watches it grow. He is quite proud of his accomplishment.

A cute story, not great. Wouldn't recommend for storytime read-aloud.