The Perfect Pumpkin
Background:
I created Perfect Pumpkin for the son of a close friend around 1988. I had already written a collection of poems for my own son, and I thought it would be nice to create something just as personal for Trevor.
I had no formal training in writing or illustrating children's books. The only thing I knew was that a picture book should be about 30 pages long, so I just started writing and let the story shape itself. I knew I wanted to include all my favorite classic horror monsters. I didn't even design a cover. Instead, the title page served as the front of the ProFolio binder that held each of the illustrated pages.
I never imagined that decades later I would revisit it and finally share it with a much larger audience. I had to revisit my mistakes to correct some grammar. However, the images remained unchanged.
Cover
The first cover I sketched put the character inside the pumpkin. Don't ask me what I was thinking, but as odd as it looks, I actually do come back to the idea in a different way.
Then I found myself thinking the that since the word pumpkin was used in the title, I didn't need to show one in the art. Then I started to over think by using the clever literary device of foreshadowing. I would include a haunted house because that was where the second part of the story was held. Eventually, I realized there was nothing wrong with drawing a pumpkin. What a genius.
Opening spread
A particular individual I admire, Ludwig van Beethoven started his first symphony in C major by striking a "cheeky" incorrect start with a dominant seventh of F major. His goal was to immediately draw attention with a unique open chord.
My tip of the hat to Beethoven is a comparable "cheeky" wrong way start. In Perfect Pumpkin, I start with a spread illustration stating on the left hand page extending through the center to the right page. Let me know any books you know that start on the left hand page.
The original hand drawn start of the story is shown to the right. Note my hand composed lettering which I added to every page. Trevor's personal version has different copy than the published version.
Trevor
The main character in Perfect Pumpkin is a boy named Trevor, inspired by the son of a close friend. Trevor and my son grew up together, even though Trevor was a year younger. With his blonde hair, and playful spirit, he was always ready for the next adventure. Whenever the two boys were together, mischief was almost guaranteed, and many of their antics found their way into Trevor's character in this story.