A Turnip, a Pumpkin, and a Squash Monthly Challenge

By Janie Reinart



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It's the time for harvest and what better way to celebrate than use that abundance as a writing challenge. Have you every written a veggie tale? Now's your chance.

Jan Brett brings an original twist to a favorite folktale.

"Badger Girl was weeding the vegetable patch when she saw something strange growing in the garden. It was the biggest turnip she had ever seen. "

     "Turnip soup, turnip pie,"Badger Girl said, "How delicious."

"One autumn morning, the air turned chilly. It was time to pick the vegetables and pull the giant turnip. But when Badger Girl got to the giant turnip, she could not pull it up."

This sweet story by Pat Zietlow Miller even has a sequel, Sophie's Squash Go to School.
On a trip to the farmers' market with her parents, Sophie chooses a squash, but instead of letting her mom cook it, she names it.

"One bright fall day, Sophie chose a squash at the farmers' market. Her parents planned to serve it for supper, but Sophie had other ideas."

"It was just the right size to hold in her arms. Just the right size to bounce on her knee. Just the right size to love."
    
     " I'm glad we met," Sophie whispered.
     "Good friends are hard to find."

My triplet grandchildren loved the story.

Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson is told with photographs. The National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council selected the publication as an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children in 2000.

Take a trip to the farmers' market or the grocery store. See if you meet a vegetable that inspires a story.

Let us know your favorite stories about vegetables. What veggie are you going to write about?