From Dark to Light - Overview

“From Dark to Light,” by Isabella Murphy is a beautifully illustrated children’s book about the life of a pumpkin.  The book chronicles a delightful tale of the life of a boy pumpkin named, “Pumpker.”. It takes young readers on a fascinating journey, through Pumpker’s life starting with his very beginning as a tiny seed to the day he became a big pumpkin with a purpose. Murphy describes to her young audience how the life of a pumpkin began:

“Old Mr. Smith’s wife digs a hole in the moist soil of their farm and gently sets me inside.  As she encloses my space of light and happiness, fear fills me. A world of darkness surrounds me.”.

A handful of pumpkin seeds were planted in the moist earth and soon thereafter a family of pumpkins was pushing their way up out of the dark and into the life-giving rays of the sun.  Pumpker is not alone in the new world, he has two sisters, Pumpalicious and Plumpilina.  Murphy enlightens the reader with the pumpkin’s journey of life from a tiny seed to a proud grown-up pumpkin.  The book talks about living with siblings and how life's challenges make us stronger, and more confident in ourselves.

The events in the tale are depicted by Natalia Perez’s stunning, colorful illustrations that bring Murphy’s meaningful story to life.  This impressive story is perfect for group discussions and not just for the Halloween holiday, but anytime for an enjoyable and enlightening reading session with family, friends or classmates.

The book is very unique because it was written by a young fifth-grade girl. Ms. Murphy is an author from the San Francisco Bay area. Her decision to write about a Pumpkin was probably inspired by the huge pumpkin festival that is held annually in Half Moon Bay. Farmers from all over, truck in their pumpkins some weighing over half a ton. The festival is one of the largest events in Half Moon Bay. I was captivated by Isabella Murphy’s storytelling and hope she continues on in her journey as an author.

As a very young writer, Isabella, joins a very elite group of similar authors, Daisy Ashford who wrote, “The Young Sisters,” at age 9, Alec Greven also at age nine wrote, “How to Talk to Girls,” and Juliette Davies just 8 years old wrote the first book of the JJ Halo series. This is an illustrious group of child protégés and if Ms. Murphy continues her career path, I would expect serious literary work from her in the future.