Bumpy Little Pumpkin

Little Nell, who first appeared in The Biggest, Best Snowman (1998), is back in another story about an independent, young sibling. Nell is dwarfed by her sisters, BIG Lizzie and BIG Sarah, and by her mother, BIG Mama. At Halloween, Lizzie and Sarah choose huge, smooth pumpkins, while Nell selects the small, lumpy runt of the vine. Her sisters dismiss it as too "bumpy and little and ugly," and Nell withers under the criticism. Then her animal friends appear, and using antlers and beaks as tools, they help her carve a winning face on her pumpkin, earning Mama's praise and delight.