Mystery Vine: A Pumpkin Surprise

by Cathryn Falwell

As the seasons go by, the mystery vine grows and grows and grows. Now, finally, it is autumn, and the mystery vine is no longer a mystery. Hello, pumpkins! This is the season for jack-o'-lanterns, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin seeds—ready for toasting and munching, and for saving and planting come spring.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Gardening, Halloween, Food, Nature, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

During a gardening summer, the characters enjoy all the produce that grows. However, there is a mystery vine they cannot identify. As summer turns to fall, the vine produces an orange surprise; pumpkin. With the fall harvest, pumpkin becomes the central ingredient in cooking. Neo asked for some pumpkin pie, as it looked so delicious in the pictures. Now then, where is the whipped cream?

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fun of gardening and discovering that a mystery vine is loaded with pumpkins is captured in this sweet rhyming picture book. After planting a garden, the children in this story can't figure out where the mystery vine came from or what's growing on it. Once the orange surprise is discovered, the joys of baking and carving jack o'lanterns are celebrated. This book includes recipes for roasted pumpkin seeds and apple-pumpkin bread. There are also directions for gardening activities, making this a terrific book to share with young readers during the fall season.

[Aolund · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family (mom, two kids, with tan skin and dark black and brown hair) plants a garden which flourishes throughout the summer, providing them with all kinds of vegetables. They also notice a Mystery Vine growing all summer long, which reveals itself to be a pumpkin vine in the fall. Pleasantly rhyming text and nice pacing. Beautiful collaged illustrations. Toddler/pre-k.

Themes: Garden, Fruits & Veggies, Seasons, Halloween

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming text describes a family planting and tending their garden all summer. While they are enjoying the vegetables, there's a vine that just keeps growing without any produce until finally in the fall it produces pumpkins. A solid, but not outstanding, addition to story time.

[Bvlmc Buchanan Verplanck Elementary School · Rating 3 out of 5]

As two children watch their garden grow they wonder what that mystery vine could be? A rhythmic text and changing seasons will help listeners guess what the plant in their garden might be.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite part are the cut paper illustrations! Kids who love gardening will love this book and the fun recipes and activities at the end.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A preschool and up book about a vine that two children are following over a year to figure out what will grow.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great planting rhythm and rhyme.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book I ever would have picked, but it's a surprise hit! Our 2 year old chose it from displays books at storytime and quickly added it into his daily rotation.

A family plants a garden together and watches the crops grown one by one, all while waiting to see what the mystery vine will yield. Most reviewers focused on this being a fall book since the mystery vine is a pumpkin, but I think spring/summer is also a great time of year for it since we're right in gardening season. Our son enjoys identifying all the vegetables and the many bugs, buds, and animals that are present in a garden. I enjoy the paper cut illustrations and the fact that it's not a caucasian family, but that's also not the highlight of the story.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the back matter of this book more than the actual 'story,' which was a bit slight and didn't carry as much charm as other books by the author such as Scoot! and Turtle Splash!: Countdown at the Pond. My six year old refused to read it at all. However, for a 2-3 year old this would be a great farming/seasonal book.

The gardening experiments in the back, though simple, are well-presented and well-chosen. This book could be a whole preschool unit.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, bold illustrations. Simple storyline. Possible theme uses include "gardens," and "seasonal-autumn." Includes simple pumpkin recipes and fun gardening activities for preschoolers at the end of the book.
Rhyming text = good for phonological awareness. Includes a brief reference to Halloween on one page..."Jack-o-lanterns! Trick-or-treat!"

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the last week or so, I can't say how many times I have read this book to my 2-year-old son. He LOVES it andthe I haven't got sick of it yet. We grow a garden as well, so it is fun to see things grown in a book. Though it's not really a secret what the mystery vine is, it's still really fun. My son calls this book out by name he loves it so much.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly enjoyable book about planting a garden--showing each crop as it pops through. All the while, a mystery vine grows...what can it be? Nice option for October that isn't too heavy on the season. Includes pumpkin recipes---roasted seeds and pumpkin apple bread--and also has gardening activities. Nice book to share with preschoolers in a unit on growing/gardening.

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, Falwell's art is wonderful. But the layout--with the text in a small box in the middle of the page takes away from the clarity of the art and the rhymes are often awkward. Nice enough for a child in your lap to pore over the pictures, but not so good for a group. Pity.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new here but it is a nice addition to the collection of pumpkin books. There is a simple, rhyming text about the growth of the garden through the summer. Falwell's graphic paper collages illustrate this nicely.

[Dayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text follows a rhyming scheme and illustrators are sort of collage like. We are busy prepping for our summer garden so this was a fun read to build anticipation. Has some nice recipes and garden projects that appear at the end of the book.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids tending to the vegetables in their garden wonder what's in store for them growing on the mystery vine! A nice rhymed Fall/Harvest themed storytime addition.

[MissInformation · Rating 3 out of 5]

After planting a mystery seed, kids watch the garden all through the growing season. Nice way to introduce kids to the garden cycle. Gardening activity page, and pumpkin seed recipe included.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good gardening book. Rhyme is okay. Includes recipes and gardening tips

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple book about gardening throughout the season, ending in pumpkins.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a mysterious vine appears in their carefully tended garden, the brother and sister patiently watch and wait to see what it becomes. Includes gardening activities and pumpkin recipes.

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cut-out illustrations show a sister and brother helping their mother harvest the vegetable garden while they try to guess what vine is growing with such large leaves and yellow "paper" flowers.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fictional story in rhyme for autumn/pumpkin story times. Not so much of a mystery as to what is on the fine as the cover pretty much gives it away to the kids.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, simple rhyming tale about planting seeds and harvesting. Good for fall, gardens, pumpkins.