Let It Grow! is a fun book about a boy who plants a pumpkin seed. I enjoyed his patience and that we learn how pumpkins grow, the different growth phases, and the many ways they can be used. Eventually the gigantic pumpkin is used for a boat! I loved learning about the Great Pumpkin Regatta. What a fun book!

Thank you Capstone and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

When growing fruits, it's easy to grow impatient and give up or harvest early. The young man in the story doesn't let impatience get the better of him, though. He teaches readers a lesson of the patience, care, and the rewards that come from giving something the time it needs to grow.

This is a beautiful book featuring a young man of color growing a pumpkin and ignoring the temptations of harvesting it too early and losing all of his work. It offers lessons in patience for all children and representation for young boys of color in a hobby where they are underrepresented.

We have two narrative voices here, the one off-screen forever second-guessing and being puzzled by the intentions of our main character. He has a seed, which he intends to just let grow and grow – with the aim of it being a record-breaking giant pumpkin. And whether it tops the scales or not, he will float downstream in it as part of a pumpkin regatta. So that's something I've learnt today, that there are actual nautical pumpkin races. And our off-screen narrator of course learnt that some things are not instantly attainable, that patience can be a virtue, and that the best things can come to those who wait – and plan ahead. And have a lifejacket for the regatta. It's quite a quirky manner in which those morals are given, but this should be a success.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc! My toddler (3.5) and I really enjoyed this book together. As a family that loves to garden, she knew what it meant to plant seeds and wait for it to grow. The illustrations were perfect and the story was so cute. We enjoyed the facts at the end and had a good laugh at the real life picture of people in giant pumpkins as boats. We lived in Oregon for a few years and I had forgotten all about that, so it was a fun memory at the end of the book. Great story, would recommend and definitely read again!

This picture book strives to teach patience through growing a giant pumpkin from a seed. Even though you could enjoy each step of the process, such as adding sprouts to a salad or making a pumpkin pie, it is certainly more fun to grow a record-winning pumpkin or even a pumpkin you could race!

The question and answer format of the book makes this an engaging read for young children. However, I found some of the phrasing to be a bit awkward.

At the end of the book, the author includes fun facts, as well as pictures of giant pumpkins and people racing them in Oregon. Who knew you could race pumpkins in the river! When I was a child, we used to race our old shriveled-up Jack-O-Lanterns down our steep driveway, that is, until my mother decided we would stop carving pumpkins and only decorate them so she could make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

The illustrations are colorful, and even though the drawings appear flat at first glance, there is actually some depth to the images. I appreciate that the illustrator strives to promote diversity in his work.

I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone Editions.

A super sweet story about the joys of planting a pumpkin and the fun things we can do with said pumpkin! The artwork is amazing and the ending was such a great twist. I can’t believe its based off a real event! Who knew Giant Pumpkin Regatta was an actual thing?!

*Thanks so much Netgalley and Capstone Editions for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*