Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller

Miller, Pat Zietlow. Sophie's Squash. Illus. by Anne Wilsdorf. New York: Schwartz & Wade, 2013. Print.

In October, I display all of the pumpkin, apple, and fall books we have in our library. (I am grateful to have a wonderful volunteer who helps me do that!) The colors have a way of bringing in new life and a sense of expectancy. We know that change is in the air, and that there may be some turkey and pumpkin pie in our future!

But one book I kept and pulled aside for storytime was Sophie's Squash (Schwartz & Wade, 2013).

When I decided to read it this year, I knew a prop would be necessary. In the story, a young girl named Sophie buys a squash on a trip to the farmers' market with her parents. When she brings it home, she paints a face on it and wraps it in a blanket, becoming very attached to it and even naming it Bernice. She takes it to story time, plays with it in the garden, and rocks it to sleep. (Her parents' reactions to this in the story are lovely!)

But as time passes, Bernice eventually begins to rot and wear, and despite her dad's attempts to divert her attentions to a toy or a pet fish, Sophie is loyal to her squash! When she asks a farmer for advice on keeping Bernice in good shape, she follows it! The story has a pleasant end, and no matter how many times I read it, I still enjoyed it!

As I read the story, I emphasized words like "supper" or any other repetitive phrases. I had Bernice sitting right by me, and I even bounced her on my knee like Sophie did.

In the story, Bernice did a few somersaults in the garden. And while I read the story, our own Bernice did a couple of tumbles, too! Albeit unplanned! But perfectly timed!

When I finished the story in one class, I was surprised to see students spontaneously line up to rock Bernice and hug it. I had not given them any directions to do so! They responded to the story in such a heartfelt way!

The book and Bernice 

Although I had planned to eventually cook the spaghetti squash for dinner, I quickly realized I couldn't go through with that. (I ended up buying another spaghetti squash!)

Once Bernice is ready, I will take her out to our own school gardens! 

Sophie's Squash is a delightful story of friendship, and a must-have for a library's fall seasonal collection.