The Pumpkin Man and the Crafty Creeper by Margaret Mahy illustrated by Helen Craig

First off I do need to tell you this book was first published in 1990 so it is long OUT of Print!! If you are a publisher reading this book (I know that is unlikely) but can I BEG you to republish this gem and then consider publishing lots of other Margaret Mahy titles (so many are brilliant). If you are not a publisher then I do hope you can find this book in your local or school library. 

This book is a perfect book to read aloud. I dream one day of using this book with a group of teacher education students - reading it aloud - as a way to show them the magic of a perfect read aloud book! The library I visit each week had a copy of The Pumpkin Man and the Crafty Creeper on their shelves and I was thrilled to see it was the larger format hardcover edition. My old library copy (which very very sadly was tossed out by my unqualified replacement) was just a small, very flimsy, paperback.

Mr Parkin loves his pumpkins.  On his way back from the garden store, pushing his wheel barrow filled with the very best potting mix, he passes a small plant creeping out from under a metal gate. The gate belongs Lily Rose Willowherb. 

The plant had "trumpet-shaped flowers of such a pure and beautiful blue that they reminded Mr Parking of the sky on a midsummer's day. For a moment his loyalty to pumpkins wavered."

But Mr Parkin should not stop to talk to this plant - she is utterly treacherous. Of course Mr Parkin is not listening to me!  The plant tells Mr Parkin she is being abused by Lily Rose Willowherb. 

"She makes me stay out in all weathers. She never reads to me or helps me enjoy the finer things of life. Take me home with you, and I will be your humble little pot plant, though I am actually a rare and valuable species."

Mr Parkin is not sure this is a good idea but the little plant tells him this is not stealing. She is happy to creep, creep, creep into his wheelbarrow. 

At home Mr Parkin put her in a pot, but this is a huge mistake because now her demands begin - more water, but not too much. Turn on the television - alas for the creeper Mr Parkin does not own a television. She demands entertainment. Mr Parkin tries playing his banjo but she is not satisfied.

"I can't bear it ... I need music, poetry, light and laughter. Is that too much to ask?"

Mr Parkin phones up the 'Dial-an-Orchestra' people who are listed in the telephone book. Just to add an aside at this point it would be such fun to show your young readers a real telephone book and also, if you can find The Boy who was Followed Home (also my Margaret Mahy) you might compare this scene with the one where the parents look up witches in their telephone book and find Mrs Cathy Squinge. 

Now back to the book.

The orchestra agree to come to Mr Parkin's house and they will bring their own strawberries but they also want champagne and a piano. Of course Mr Parkin does not own a grand piano but the orchestra come anyway. They fill up the kitchen and even have to perch on top of the fridge.

"The orchestra played mightily, sustaining itself with strawberries and champagne in between minuets and mazurkas."

But the creeper is not satisfied. She demands Mr Parkin read her some poetry and at that moment Lily Rose Willowherb arrives. She has heard the orchestra and has guessed her naughty plant is causing havoc for her poor unsuspecting neighbour. 

"He kidnapped me! He kidnapped me! ... He reached through the gate and dragged me into his wheel barrow. ... I'm too sensitive for this rough life ... I'm beginning to droop."

"You? Droop? You're as tough as old boots,' said Lily Rose Willowherb, whisking it out of its pot. 'You're so tough you're practically a weed!"

When I read this book aloud in my library I would always gather some ivy or other "creeping" plant so the children (Grade 2) could see the way creepers cling onto walls and fences. 

To those attuned, the satire here cuts with rapier precision, but Mahy's use of language is so deft and good-humoured that her tale will also be read as more lighthearted hyperbole. Illustrator Craig nicely extends the characterisations, adding plenty of amusing details Kirkus Star review

Margaret Mahy, as I have said in previous posts, was a superb storyteller. I do love the way each of her books has a different illustrator. This one is illustrated by the wonderful Helen Craig who also illustrated Jam. (And the Angelina Ballerina book series).