By Katie Smith (author) , Sarah Jennings (illustrator)
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Winner of ITV Lorraine's Top Tales 2016 | In a nutshell: growing vegetables grows confidence and puts nasty Penelope in the shade
Katie Smith’s story beat 3000 others in Lorraine’s Top Tales competition on ITV, winning the approval of Lorraine Kelly and Bake Off’s Nadiya Hussain. It’s a lively, heart-warming adventure about a little girl who, with the help of her granddad and her grandma’s secret recipe, grows a really enormous pumpkin for the school project.
There are definite hints of Roald Dahl in the story and the telling, and Smith has great fun dreaming up the special ingredients for the magical growing potion – it includes hedgehog poo, baked beans and Irn Bru! – while the relationship between Lottie and her granddad is really nicely described. A fun satisfying story with laughs a-plenty. ~ Andrea Reece
A note from the author: On 11 February 2016, in response to a new competition that had launched on ITV’s Lorraine, I wrote the first two chapters of a children’s story. Having taught English for the last nine years, I certainly had lots of experience with writing, but I had never attempted to write a children’s book and I wasn’t even sure I could finish it.
I just had a character, an idea and an opening. After I finished the first couple of chapters, I read it to my dad who said, in typical dad style, ‘That’s quite good; I reckon you might stand a chance with that!’
Never in a million years did I think he was right. I entered the competition on a whim; not even letting myself imagine that what I had written would be good enough to be shortlisted. But it was. So, I finished the story, which is based on my niece and goddaughter, Lottie. She is the first child I have ever truly loved and the kindest little girl that I know.
I think stories are one of the best gifts we can give to children. The Pumpkin Project is my gift to Lottie, Nell and William. I hope that, one day, they might read it to their own children and think of me.
Lorraine Kelly said , ‘It was really difficult to choose a winner as the standard of writing was so high but all the judges felt that Katie Smith's story, The Pumpkin Project, stood out. It's a fantastic story - really imaginative and I can't wait to see the finished book!’
Nadiya Hussain comments , ‘I loved being a judge for this competition. The final three stories blew me away with their imagination! Katie’s writing stood out for us all though and I can’t wait to read the finished book with my children.’
The Pumpkin Project is the winner of Lorraine’s Top Tales competition run in partnership with ITV. The judges included presenter Lorraine Kelly and winner of The Great British Bake Off 2015, Nadiya Hussain.
Read the full description
Lottie and her class are given an end of term project competition called Big and Small. The problem is, class show-off Penelope Pembleton-Puce always wins. But this time, Lottie and Gramps come up with a brilliant idea: to grow a giant pumpkin! With the help of grandad's old vegetable growing tricks, they set about trying to break world records for the biggest vegetable ever.
But this pumpkin is fussy, demanding and has a mind of its own, and with Penelope willing to do literally anything to win AGAIN, does Lottie really stand a chance? A beautiful, heart-warming story about friendship, family, and growing confidence ...as well as a large vegetable!
A heart-warming story about friendship, family, and growing confidence ...as well as a large vegetable!
Lottie and Grandad aim to grow a record-breaking giant pumpkin in a heartwarming story about family and friendship that won the Top Tales competition on ITV's Lorraine show. -- Fiona Noble The Bookseller
Katie Smith is the winner of ITV Lorraine's Top Tales competition 2016. Katie currently teaches English to children with special educational needs at a school in the West Midlands.
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The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Pumpkin Project and determined it is suitable for children aged 5-8 years old
The Pumpkin Project features in the following genres: Featured Books for 5+ readers, Recommendations, Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Recommended Children's eBooks, Featured Books for 7+ readers
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. Temporarily Out Of Stock.
The Pumpkin Project was written by Katie Smith and published by Hodder Children's Books an imprint of Hachette Children's Group
The Pumpkin Project has 143 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. Temporarily Out Of Stock.
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