This is my new favorite autumn picture book! This is a story of friendship and generosity, of hard work, care and perseverance.  A young boy named Peter is the main character.  He lives with his grandparents on a lovely farm and grows pumpkins for autumn.  One day Peter follows a stray pumpkin vine to the far edge of the field where he finds a little pumpkin surrounded by weeds.  He cultivates the ground and makes sure this little pumpkin has sun light and water to grow big and beautiful.   Quietly, he is observed by a new neighbor girl named Meg.  When Meg’s family comes to look for a pumpkin, she doesn’t find the right one until Peter leads her to his prized pumpkin which has grown big and beautiful under his care.  I love that he shared his pumpkin with the girl and that they became friends and the next summer grew pumpkins together  so that “their friendship grew and grew and grew”.  The illustrations remind me of Mary Engelbreit in terms of the colors and painting style as well as all the delightful details you discover as you peer at the page.  Little ladybugs crawl around the borders of illustrations and bees and butterflies trail through.  Darling and whimsical, sweet and fun are good descriptors for these watercolor illustrations.  I also appreciate that Peter comes from a non-traditional family of grandparents raising him, as do many children these days.  I highly recommend this book and am delighted to add it to my elementary school library collection.