Prince Mammoth Pumpkin, The

The Prince Mammoth Pumpkin. By James P. Adams. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1998. 48 pp. $14.95 (cloth).

The Prince Mammoth Pumpkin tells the story of a solitary farmer who takes parental delight in the cultivation of a wondrous pumpkin. As the melon swells and ripens, it holds the promise of becoming the largest yelloworange pumpkin imaginable. However, on Halloween eve his prize is chopped to pieces, destroyed by vandals. This breaks the farmer's heart. In that moment his life is turned upside down, never to be the same again. This loss seems to awaken all the hurtful things, the long-ago things in the farmer's life. He is devastated. The rest of the book is concerned with what follows.

This wanton act symbolizes the irrationality of evil that always threatens to rob life of its meaning. At the end of the tale we witness a mysterious movement from darkness, loss and death to the emergence of new life and rebirth in the human heart. No small journey. No small mystery. A journey that we can see repeated in our own lives and in those around us.

The author calls his book a parable, and like the parables in Scripture The Prince Mammoth Pumpkin conveys a meaning beyond the ordinary. Associations with the ministry of Jesus can be made by those who would read and tell this story. Though this slender volume is probably found in the children's section, this is a story for all ages.

Julie Lonneman's illustrations fill the book. They reflect a rare collaboration of author and artist. The muted, rich colors enhance and contribute to the narrative mood of the story.

The Prince Mammoth Pumpkin introduces a young author. He writes with an engaging clarity and energy. This work grew out of a story sermon delivered at Adams's field work placement. A 1997 graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, he serves at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover, New Hampshire, and is a chaplain at Dartmouth College. This is a storyteller to watch.

RICHARD A. BUSCH

Virginia Theological Seminary

Alexandria, Virginia

Copyright Anglican Theological Review, Inc. Summer 1999
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