Jack be Little

The first seeds of my Pumpkin Planet Story have been dispersed and it is clear that, as expected some have fallen on stoney ground. The most positive feedback so far has come from the Pumpkin People themselves, who have been most encouraging.
My last entry shows the first contact I received from Pumpkin Planet. Since then I have enjoyed a regular correspondence with the Butternut Ponka family who seem not only genuine but very pleasant and helpful people. They provide me with lots of detailed info about their lives and in turn I tell them about Earth, which mostly consists of answering questions from Little Grappa.
His obsession with Jack be Little pumpkins inspired me to produce the above picture showing the Pumpkin people eating a typical meal carved out of their living homes. Big Erik has assured me that no structural damage is caused by this practice as the walls quickly grow back. Apparently the ceilings are particularly tasty and nourishing.
  
 

Butternut Ponkas?

I was just about to post an update on the progress of 'Pumpkin Planet' when I received this image attached to the following email:-

Hi Greg, 

we are people of Butternut Ponka family calling all the way from Pumpkin Planet. Yes, we are sorry but you did not invent us, the Pumpkin People are exsisting already! and have been watching earth for many seeds(years).

We hope you like the picture. It shows me, Big Erik with Little Grappa on my shoulder and Madelaine at my side, they are my brother and sister. Madelaine is very much the earth watcher, she has herself a telescope and the wonderful Miss Mistony is teaching her good english. Little Grappa also likes earth but he does not speak greatly, being only 4 seeds old, except when he heard you have an earth pumpkin called Jack be little, then he went a bit crazy with excitement. Now he has pestering me to ask if he and Madelaine can contact you to ask about Jack be little, and send you some more pictures. I said you are probably busy doing your own pictures, but if you have a time I know they would be pleased to hear from you.

Best Wishes

Madelaine, Little Grappa, Butternut Pupkin and Big Erik

ps. we do not yet have MSN or Facebook on Pumpkin Planet 

I do not know what to make of this. Surely it must be a hoax. Who ever it is seems to have mastered my style of drawing embarrassingly well. There again if it is genuine then its a great honour as well as being an amazing opportunity!   

The Pumpkin People

  The Pumpkin People live in growing houses.

The Pumpkin peoples song

Click above to download the pumpkin peoples song, composed and recorded yesterday.

Professor Ponka's pumpkin rocket

The seed is sown

Today the story was finished(to read click above pumpkin planet story). It has taken about six weeks and having gone through many stages now comprises of about 280 words arranged on a single A4 sheet. But this is just the beginning, hopefully.  The real work is in the pictures, the first of which was also completed today. The next stage is to distribute the seeds and hope they fall on some fertile ground.

The story itself is a seed, and is about seeds. Seeds sent from an improbable far away place (Pumpkin Planet) to a very nearby, probable place (Earth in the future). But this future earth is barren and grey, full of
people that are equally grey. It sounds heavy for a kids book, and it would be heavy if it were set on Earth but its not. Instead the action takes place on a large Pumpkin shaped planet growing on an interstellar pumpkin vine, somewhere in an unknown region of the universe where very unusual things can happen. Imagine if you can a planet as rich and diverse as our own only where everything is made from pumpkins. Pumpkins and squashes of every kind make up the mountains, forests, deserts, seas, animals and even people. Yes people - the Pumpkin People. Now that's not heavy, its just, . . . . . improbable.