What do you think?
Rate this book
Mouseville
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever
Two mice, each without the other's knowledge, help a pumpkin grow into "the biggest pumpkin ever"--but for different purposes.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1984
18 people are currently reading
765 people want to read
About the author
Steven Kroll
124 books28 followersStephen Kroll spoke at schools and conferences all over the world. He was married to the journalist, Kathleen Beckett, and they lived in New York City and an old carriage house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When he was not writing or traveling, he played a lot of tennis and walked around looking at everything.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
September 23, 2018
A cute story about mice and pumpkins. Cute illustrations
February 2, 2013
This book is designed for young elementary students. My 3 year old likes it but even he points out in the inaccuracies. The book is about 2 mice caring for a pumpkin, each without the other's knowledge. The pumpkin ends up growing phenomenally large because of the extra care it received. The problem is, too much water, too much fertilizer, etc., would have killed the pumpkin. Then there is the lack of explanation as to why the field mouse would sneak into someone's garden to feed a pumpkin so he could have it as a jack-o-lantern. Its their pumpkin! He has no claim to it, regardless of what whether he has helped it or killed it through over watering and fertilizing. Those complaints aside, however, its a cute book.
October 30, 2013
Two mice both find the same little pumpkin growing in a garden and start to nurture it, each without the other's knowledge. [Whose garden is it? Beats me, it never says, so these mice may be stealing! :)] One wants the pumpkin to grow large for a contest. The other wants to make a fantastic jack-o-lantern with it.
I was pleasantly surprised that when these two mice realize they've both been caring for the same pumpkin, they are not angry, but decide to cooperate. While there's nothing particularly spectacular here, little ones will like the idea of a giant pumpkin as big as a house, and the spirit of cooperation exhibited by both the two mice and their neighbors is kind of refreshing. I'll probably add this to my Halloween read-alouds for 1st grade.
I was pleasantly surprised that when these two mice realize they've both been caring for the same pumpkin, they are not angry, but decide to cooperate. While there's nothing particularly spectacular here, little ones will like the idea of a giant pumpkin as big as a house, and the spirit of cooperation exhibited by both the two mice and their neighbors is kind of refreshing. I'll probably add this to my Halloween read-alouds for 1st grade.
October 12, 2019
While this book, published in 1984, certainly feels its age, my girls loved it. The prospects of two mice caring for the same pumpkin was clever and instead of creating a big conflict when the mouse discovered each other, they laugh and both get their way.
January 25, 2018
Another mirror book, two mice doing the same thing to a pumpkin and not realizing it. The pumpkin grows huge. They decide to share so they can get it to the pumpkin contest and win.
March 7, 2020
Read with my son when he was in first grade. Fun children's book.
October 29, 2016
0.5 I guess, so I don't give it a 0.
I didn’t like that the story was about mice. And it was weird how they were talking about the pumpkin contest in town and neighborhoods, like they had their own world. It just doesn’t make sense because they’re too small to handle the pumpkin anyway. I didn’t like their human names either. They needed to have good mouse names. Clayton and Desmond don’t fit mice at all. Clayton finds this pumpkin and in his daydream he’s standing beside it after it’s won the grand prize. Desmond discovers it that day too, except in his daydream it’s the biggest jack-o-lantern. I didn’t understand why in his daydream, the little cloud above his head, he’s wearing blue overalls, except his shirt is plain white instead of pink checkered like he’s wearing, and there’s a girl mouse in it with him, no idea who she was. His wife, girlfriend, just a random girl mouse admiring his jack-o-lantern? Because Clayton and Desmond were the only two mice introduced so far.
I thought it was a bad choice to have them fertilize the pumpkins, because kids that are young enough to be reading this probably have no idea what fertilize means and could barely say the word. And speaking of manure was a bad idea too. They probably don’t know what that is either, and mentioning crap in a book is never good. I think saying they watered the pumpkin would have been enough. Clayton’s mom gets in on it, telling him how big it is, and Clayton says all he does is water it, which wasn’t true, because he fertilized with manure too. Desmond’s brother also gets on it, and Desmond says all he does is water it, which isn’t true either. He fertilizes it with manure too, except at night, while Clayton is tending it in the day. Both family members told tell them to use sugar water.
I thought the description of digging a hole, and putting the bowl of sugar water and then cutting the vine a few inches from the pumpkin, and then putting one end of a candle wick into the hole and the other in the bowl was way too involved for kids to understand. It’s just too much specific information that they wouldn’t understand or care about. It’s way over their head. There was too much writing too, and the words were too small.
It was a very stupid moment when they both come to the miraculous conclusion that they’ve both been feeding the pumpkin. I don’t know how they both realized that. They each do exactly the same thing, put blankets over the pumpkin that night so it didn’t get cold, they both hum a song, both realize someone else is humming and covering the pumpkin, so they stop and peer around the pumpkin.
“You’ve been feeding the pumpkin,” said Clayton.
“You’ve been feeding the pumpkin,” said Desmond.
“That’s why it got so big,” said Clayton.
“That’s why it got so big,” said Desmond.
That’s terrible writing, so monotonous to read. And they both anticlimactically come to the conclusion to let Clayton enter the contest and win, and Desmond magnanimously decides to carve it into a jack-o-lantern once the contest is over. Talk about unrealistic. Two young people—even mice—would definitely fight over it. I had been expecting a fight about who’s pumpkin it was, each claiming they found it first and it was theirs, but nope, once “everything had been explained” they each decide to just share it. It was absolutely bizarre that some people were carrying their pumpkins to the contest in trucks and cars, and some rolling them along the ground, and they get their big pumpkin their by 100 field mice on motorcycles. How strange that they have vehicles, and now all of a sudden 100 of them have motorcycles. Just one bad choice after another. It’s too big to go on the streets, and Clayton has to explain why he couldn’t bring it to the square. I think it’s self-explanatory and will this story just continue to go on? Half of it could have been cut out. Most of the sentences are not pertinent to the story and contribute nothing. The judge understands at once, who even cares at this point, it wins first place and, at the same time, Clayton and Desmond say “Who would have believed this?”
I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Bad writing, bad storytelling. It was long-winded and there was a better way of writing all of it. The artwork was terrible. It was sketchy and very simple.
I didn’t like that the story was about mice. And it was weird how they were talking about the pumpkin contest in town and neighborhoods, like they had their own world. It just doesn’t make sense because they’re too small to handle the pumpkin anyway. I didn’t like their human names either. They needed to have good mouse names. Clayton and Desmond don’t fit mice at all. Clayton finds this pumpkin and in his daydream he’s standing beside it after it’s won the grand prize. Desmond discovers it that day too, except in his daydream it’s the biggest jack-o-lantern. I didn’t understand why in his daydream, the little cloud above his head, he’s wearing blue overalls, except his shirt is plain white instead of pink checkered like he’s wearing, and there’s a girl mouse in it with him, no idea who she was. His wife, girlfriend, just a random girl mouse admiring his jack-o-lantern? Because Clayton and Desmond were the only two mice introduced so far.
I thought it was a bad choice to have them fertilize the pumpkins, because kids that are young enough to be reading this probably have no idea what fertilize means and could barely say the word. And speaking of manure was a bad idea too. They probably don’t know what that is either, and mentioning crap in a book is never good. I think saying they watered the pumpkin would have been enough. Clayton’s mom gets in on it, telling him how big it is, and Clayton says all he does is water it, which wasn’t true, because he fertilized with manure too. Desmond’s brother also gets on it, and Desmond says all he does is water it, which isn’t true either. He fertilizes it with manure too, except at night, while Clayton is tending it in the day. Both family members told tell them to use sugar water.
I thought the description of digging a hole, and putting the bowl of sugar water and then cutting the vine a few inches from the pumpkin, and then putting one end of a candle wick into the hole and the other in the bowl was way too involved for kids to understand. It’s just too much specific information that they wouldn’t understand or care about. It’s way over their head. There was too much writing too, and the words were too small.
It was a very stupid moment when they both come to the miraculous conclusion that they’ve both been feeding the pumpkin. I don’t know how they both realized that. They each do exactly the same thing, put blankets over the pumpkin that night so it didn’t get cold, they both hum a song, both realize someone else is humming and covering the pumpkin, so they stop and peer around the pumpkin.
“You’ve been feeding the pumpkin,” said Clayton.
“You’ve been feeding the pumpkin,” said Desmond.
“That’s why it got so big,” said Clayton.
“That’s why it got so big,” said Desmond.
That’s terrible writing, so monotonous to read. And they both anticlimactically come to the conclusion to let Clayton enter the contest and win, and Desmond magnanimously decides to carve it into a jack-o-lantern once the contest is over. Talk about unrealistic. Two young people—even mice—would definitely fight over it. I had been expecting a fight about who’s pumpkin it was, each claiming they found it first and it was theirs, but nope, once “everything had been explained” they each decide to just share it. It was absolutely bizarre that some people were carrying their pumpkins to the contest in trucks and cars, and some rolling them along the ground, and they get their big pumpkin their by 100 field mice on motorcycles. How strange that they have vehicles, and now all of a sudden 100 of them have motorcycles. Just one bad choice after another. It’s too big to go on the streets, and Clayton has to explain why he couldn’t bring it to the square. I think it’s self-explanatory and will this story just continue to go on? Half of it could have been cut out. Most of the sentences are not pertinent to the story and contribute nothing. The judge understands at once, who even cares at this point, it wins first place and, at the same time, Clayton and Desmond say “Who would have believed this?”
I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Bad writing, bad storytelling. It was long-winded and there was a better way of writing all of it. The artwork was terrible. It was sketchy and very simple.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2016
I requested this book in the spirit of the season. I didn't think it looked great, but I wanted to read this book before the christmas one, The Biggest Snowman Ever, I think it's called. I wasn't crazy to read books where mice are the main characters; I'd prefer it to be about children, so that's why I wasn't so excited to read this.
Clayton found the pumpkin first. If this was me and my sister, we’d ask what time you found it, just like we do with books on goodreads!
I’m surprised they mentioned manure in here; it looks too close to crap.
Oh boy, it’s getting double the water and fertilizer!
It doesn’t have to be so similar. Both shrugged and said “All I do is water it” then Clayton’s mom and Desmond’s brother whispered “You should try using sugar water.”
I don’t think the pumpkin would grow that much in a month.
Idk why, but I just couldn’t understand what Clayton did to the pumpkin. ‘Clayton dug a small hole beside the pumpkin vine. In the he placed a bowl full of sugar water. He cut into the vine a few inches from the pumpkin. In the cut he put one end of a piece of candle wick. Then he put the other end in the bowl of sugar water.’
&just because it was fed sugar water, idt it would double in size in one week.
Also, how did Desmond not see the bowl of sugar water on the other side of the pumpkin?
Pumpkin bigger than a car and house.
-“you’ve been feeding the pumpkin,” said Clayton.
“You’ve been feeding the pumpkin,” said Desmond.
“That’s why it got so big,” said Clayton.
“That’s why it got so big,” said Desmond.
They burst out laughing.’
There’s a better way of writing this. it sounds so robotic.
I’m surprised they were laughing. I thought they’d be mad, and each claim it was their pumpkin. I’m also very surprised that there was no argument or disagreement. They immediately figured out that they’d take it to the contest and then use it as a jack-o’-lantern.
The pumpkin kept getting bigger and bigger and was still green. We didn’t get to see it turn yellow and then orange. It’s ridiculous how big it got; it’s bigger than the buildings! & ridiculous how 100 mice are pulling it by motorcycles!
I found the last page odd: ‘And on Halloween night its wonderful, smiling face could be seen glowing for miles around.’ The book didn’t have that kind of writing in it before.
I wish it had ended more on Clayton and Desmond than with the pumpkin. There was no lesson or real story here. It needed more. Also, the book could have used more color; the sky was white in here. This book is more one star.
Clayton found the pumpkin first. If this was me and my sister, we’d ask what time you found it, just like we do with books on goodreads!
I’m surprised they mentioned manure in here; it looks too close to crap.
Oh boy, it’s getting double the water and fertilizer!
It doesn’t have to be so similar. Both shrugged and said “All I do is water it” then Clayton’s mom and Desmond’s brother whispered “You should try using sugar water.”
I don’t think the pumpkin would grow that much in a month.
Idk why, but I just couldn’t understand what Clayton did to the pumpkin. ‘Clayton dug a small hole beside the pumpkin vine. In the he placed a bowl full of sugar water. He cut into the vine a few inches from the pumpkin. In the cut he put one end of a piece of candle wick. Then he put the other end in the bowl of sugar water.’
&just because it was fed sugar water, idt it would double in size in one week.
Also, how did Desmond not see the bowl of sugar water on the other side of the pumpkin?
Pumpkin bigger than a car and house.
-“you’ve been feeding the pumpkin,” said Clayton.
“You’ve been feeding the pumpkin,” said Desmond.
“That’s why it got so big,” said Clayton.
“That’s why it got so big,” said Desmond.
They burst out laughing.’
There’s a better way of writing this. it sounds so robotic.
I’m surprised they were laughing. I thought they’d be mad, and each claim it was their pumpkin. I’m also very surprised that there was no argument or disagreement. They immediately figured out that they’d take it to the contest and then use it as a jack-o’-lantern.
The pumpkin kept getting bigger and bigger and was still green. We didn’t get to see it turn yellow and then orange. It’s ridiculous how big it got; it’s bigger than the buildings! & ridiculous how 100 mice are pulling it by motorcycles!
I found the last page odd: ‘And on Halloween night its wonderful, smiling face could be seen glowing for miles around.’ The book didn’t have that kind of writing in it before.
I wish it had ended more on Clayton and Desmond than with the pumpkin. There was no lesson or real story here. It needed more. Also, the book could have used more color; the sky was white in here. This book is more one star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2011
I read this book to some students in my second grade class and they really enjoyed it! This story is really funny because it deals with a huge misunderstanding between two mice, who have both fallen in love with the same pumpkin and take care of it. Clayton finds the pumpkin and decides to water it (with sugar water, so it will grow even faster) for the county wide contest of the biggest pumpkin, and Desmond decides to water to the pumpkin, too so he can have a nice Jack-o-Latern for Halloween. Without the two mice knowing, they BOTH are watering the same pumpkin during different times of the day. When both of the boys discover what they've done, they comprimise, showing a great act of friendship. Clayton agrees to let Desmond carve the pumpkin into a Jack-o-Latern as long as he can enter it in the contest first--and the pumpkin wins! This would be a great story to share with young children the meaning of compromise and friendship, as well as math because the pumpkin grows bigger and bigger--they could practice measurement and weight :) Young children will love this book because it is hilarious!
October 27, 2022
This is a cute tale about two mice and the pumpkin they don't know they're *both* feeding.
Ages: 4 - 8
Cleanliness: there is a jack-o-lantern in the story, mentions Halloween and the last picture shows a few mice in costume (ghost, etc.).
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
Ages: 4 - 8
Cleanliness: there is a jack-o-lantern in the story, mentions Halloween and the last picture shows a few mice in costume (ghost, etc.).
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
December 7, 2013
A book my 6 yr old as well as my twin 3 yr olds loved. A solid reading level 2 book, this cute story keeps all ages engaged with the bright colorful pictures and cute story. A great addition to any children's library.
Read
March 14, 2016I read this book when I was a child, and it was so cute! The drawings and characters are sweet and the storyline memorable.
October 22, 2023
Clayton the village mouse and Desmond the field mouse both fall in love with the same pumpkin, Clayton visiting it during the day to care for it, and Desmond at night. With their faithful ministrations, the pumpkin soon begins to grow to an enormous size, with both mice making their plans: one wants to win the town pumpkin contest, while the other dreams of creating the most magnificent jack-o-lantern ever. When the two eventually meet, they decide to work together to fulfill both of their ambitions...
The first of a number of seasonal picture books from author/illustrator team Steven Kroll and Jeni Bassett to feature the mice of Mouseville, The Biggest Pumpkin Ever pairs an engaging story of hard work and dreaming big with cute illustrations. I liked the fact that Clayton and Desmond discovering one another led, not to conflict, but to the two working together. That said, I did think it a little odd that Desmond followed the course of action he did, given that the narrative tells us that the pumpkin was in Clayton's garden. Surely it isn't reasonable for him to expect that it would be his, to make into a jack-o-lantern, when it always belonged to someone else? Leaving that aside, this was a sweet, gentle little tale for the Halloween season, and I would recommend it to picture book readers seeking such fare.
The first of a number of seasonal picture books from author/illustrator team Steven Kroll and Jeni Bassett to feature the mice of Mouseville, The Biggest Pumpkin Ever pairs an engaging story of hard work and dreaming big with cute illustrations. I liked the fact that Clayton and Desmond discovering one another led, not to conflict, but to the two working together. That said, I did think it a little odd that Desmond followed the course of action he did, given that the narrative tells us that the pumpkin was in Clayton's garden. Surely it isn't reasonable for him to expect that it would be his, to make into a jack-o-lantern, when it always belonged to someone else? Leaving that aside, this was a sweet, gentle little tale for the Halloween season, and I would recommend it to picture book readers seeking such fare.
September 3, 2022
4.5 stars... Two mice, unbeknownst to the other, each take care of the same pumpkin causing it to grow VERY large. The one mouse wants a very large pumpkin to enter the town's pumpkin contest. The other mouse wants a very large pumpkin to carve the largest jack-o-lantern. They both have to work together to make sure each one's dream happens. The illustrations are simple, but clearly help to tell the story. The text is rather long on some pages, however the story stays every interesting throughout the book. It's still a fast read. This would make an excellent Halloween or October read aloud.
November 11, 2025
Sort of a take on town mouse/country mouse - but Clayton is a house mouse while Desmond is a field mouse. They both have big plans for the same pumpkin. Clayton wants to win the big pumpkin contest while Desmond wants to carve the biggest jack-o-lantern. They each take very special care and the little pumpkin grows and grows! One night it is very cold and they both show up to make sure their pumpkin is OK. And discover they have both been tending the same pumpkin. They share their pumpkin hopes and dreams and refreshingly decide to help each other reach their goals.
A sweet book about making friends and working together.
A sweet book about making friends and working together.
December 2, 2019
I like this book because it's about a little pumpkin and little mice. It's not like the story you think it could be; it's not like a Peter Rabbit book. And then later it becomes a big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big pumpkin, and they can't bring it to the town square because it's big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big, so they bring it to the field and lots of field mice pull it on motorcycles.
June 2, 2022
This is an adorable story about two hardworking young mice who are excited about the same pumpkin, but have very different wanted outcomes. Throughout there is a lot of mirroring each other’s actions which makes the pumpkin grow incredibly large. This is a great book with using compare and contrast of character traits and actions. I love that the two come together at the end and instead of fighting over the pumpkin, they come to an agreement so both of them get what they want. Great story about coming together and solving a problem.
June 12, 2023
K - 1st Grade
Fiction
This is the perfect book to read before Halloween! Two mice, Clayton and Desmond, end up taking care of the same pumpkin, and in turn, make the biggest pumpkin the town has ever seen! It's a sweet story of both of the mice getting what they wanted and compromising - Clayton wanted to win the biggest pumkpin contest and Desmond wanted the biggest jack-o-lantern, so after the contest, all the mice came together to carve it! What a cute story!
Fiction
This is the perfect book to read before Halloween! Two mice, Clayton and Desmond, end up taking care of the same pumpkin, and in turn, make the biggest pumpkin the town has ever seen! It's a sweet story of both of the mice getting what they wanted and compromising - Clayton wanted to win the biggest pumkpin contest and Desmond wanted the biggest jack-o-lantern, so after the contest, all the mice came together to carve it! What a cute story!
March 19, 2020
I first read this picture book
as an adult.
3.5 stars
The illustrations are nice and attractive
and appropriate--they are also incredibly
colorful.
The storyline was good not great.
I thought this picture book was good not
great.
However, I think most younger children
would really enjoy it.
as an adult.
3.5 stars
The illustrations are nice and attractive
and appropriate--they are also incredibly
colorful.
The storyline was good not great.
I thought this picture book was good not
great.
However, I think most younger children
would really enjoy it.
May 18, 2021
This was one of my favourite books as a child. I remember having it read to me by my grandmother until I was old enough to read on my own. Then we would read it together, or I would read it to her. I had forgotten all about it until it popped into my head just now, and I’m so happy I was able to find it here by googling “mice growing giant pumpkins and a race children’s book” 😂
Read
November 19, 2021Two boys have big plans for a pumpkin that is growing in a garden. Unbeknownst to the other, they begin caring for the pumpkin plant as it grows bigger and bigger each week. When they do discover each, they make plans for the pumpkin that benefits both and their town.
Great story about working together.
Great story about working together.
Read
March 17, 2020This book is about a fictional town of mice who hold a pumpkin competition. One character pumpkin grows to be the biggest pumpkin ever! The cute animal themes, seem to be structured towards a young audience.
October 1, 2021
Two little mice are both taking care of the same pumpkin and boy does it grow. They work together taking it to town. It wins first place for the biggest pumpkin and then the other little mouse makes it into a wonderful Jack-O-Lantern.
November 4, 2022
Cute story. Yes, the premise is flawed, how could the mice not see that another was caring for the pumpkin too? They would have killed it with overwatering, etc. But really?! It's a child's story, it's for them to delight in - just enjoy!
October 14, 2023
I think we can file this under classic. Amazingly, the simple story with stellar artwork (given the resources at the time) engaged my son even when he was super tired. I doubt this will rank high with any kids over age 5-6.
October 14, 2025
This is a good book for elementary grades, as it displays a wide variety of pictures. It teaches a lesson about how working together can have a good outcome. It is also descriptive in text, and tells the story of two mice who unknowingly take care of the same pumpkin.
October 27, 2017
Cute story about two mice that are both taking care of a pumpkin without the knowledge that the other one is helping.
December 13, 2017
This mouse community bonds over big pumpkins 10/10
September 25, 2018
This is a great win/win book that shows different agendas where everyone can have what they want. It is a fun book to read in the fall.
November 1, 2018
Great book. Good to talk about sharing and working together. Good addition to the Fall/Halloween book list.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews