Detailed instructions on how to plant, cultivate, harvest, and propagate a variety of pumpkin, squash, and ornamental gourd varieties are accompanied by more than 150 glorious color photographs, horticultural tips, and delicious recipes.

“A volume that demystifies these vegetables and presents a hundred or so recipes that are simple and, for the most part, economic to prepare.” —Mostly Food & Travel Journal Everyone knows and loves the traditional pumpkin—plump and golden carved into a Halloween lantern—and perhaps you’ve prepared a pumpkin pie or a thick pumpkin soup. But in the last few years other more interesting and varied varieties such as patty pans, kabocha, butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squashes have become available from farmer’s markets and allotment gardeners. For all those cooks who have wondered what to do with these glorious new vegetables, or those who simply want some inspirational ideas for the good old pumpkin or what to do with that glut of zucchini—here are the recipes. From Pumpkin and White Bean Soup to Minted Zucchini Soup; from Squash Couscous to Zucchini Bread; from Spicy Pumpkin, Rum, and Raisin Ice Cream to Pumpkin Wine, there are over one hundred easy-to-prepare dishes such as stews, pasta sauces, pickles, relishes, cakes, breads, quiches, biscuits, and jams, to take you through the entire year. For those enthusiasts who like to grow their own produce there are cultivation instructions and seed sources as well as advice on picking, storing, and a guide to varieties. “This book offers countless recipes for all varieties of squash. There are sweet and savoury recipes alike, including a few surprises.” —Mutherfudger

Your 3-year-old loves the silliness of outrageous stories. Tips for reading and sharing: Your child will also love Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash Ask your child to describe the story by looking at the pictures Make up other silly events that could happen in the story

Kids will love this playful story of of a unique fall friendship between a girl . . . and her squash! On a trip to the farmers' market with her parents, Sophie chooses a squash, but instead of letting her mom cook it, she names it Bernice. From then on, Sophie brings Bernice everywhere, despite her parents' gentle warnings that Bernice will begin to rot. As winter nears, Sophie does start to notice changes.... What's a girl to do when the squash she loves is in trouble? The recipient of four starred reviews, an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor, and a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, Sophie's Squash will be a fresh addition to any collection of autumn books.

The first comprehensive history of squash in the United States, Squash incorporates every aspect of this increasingly popular sport: men's and women's play, juniors and intercollegiates, singles and doubles, hardball and softball, amateurs and professionals. Invented by English schoolboys in the 1850s, squash first came to the United States in 1884 when St. Paul's School in New Hampshire built four open-air courts. The game took hold in Philadelphia, where players founded the U.S. Squash Racquets Association in 1904, and became one of the primary pastimes of the nation's elite. Squash launched a U.S. Open in 1954, but its present boom started in the 1970s when commercial squash clubs took the sport public. In the 1980s a pro tour sprung up to offer tournaments on portable glass courts in dramatic locales such as the Winter Garden at the World Trade Center. James Zug, with access to private archives and interviews with hundreds of players, describes the riveting moments and sweeping historical trends that have shaped the game. He focuses on the biographies of legendary squash personalities: Eleo Sears, the Boston Brahmin who swam in the cold Atlantic before matches; Hashim Khan, the impish founder of the Khan dynasty; Victor Niederhoffer, the son of a Brooklyn cop; and Mark Talbott, a Grateful Dead groupie who traveled the pro circuit sleeping in the back of his pickup. A gripping cultural history, Squash is the book for which all aficionados of this fast-paced, exciting game have been waiting.

"A story for all ages about interconnection and learning to live in harmony amid differences, from a leading light of contemporary Zen-based on a parable from Kosho Uchiyama's classic bestseller Opening the Hand of Thought. Features a contextualizing afterword by Shohaku Okumura. [Amplify what kids will benefit from reading this book] "It's true that we are all different squashes . . . some are bigger and some are smaller . . . some are rounder and some are longer. But even if we are different, we are all connected. We are all growing together. We don't have to be such squabbling squashes.""--