by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 24, 2010

Denys Cavet was 67 when he wrote and illustrated "The Perfect Pumpkin Pie" - but don't be fooled by the gentle watercolors on its title page. The book quickly turns into a strange, dark story about the ghost of a cranky old man. "Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkin pie! I must have one before I die..."

Cavet's illustrations reminded me of the caricatures in political cartoons, but filled in with deceptively bright colors. (It's as though Ralph Steadman took over the book's illustrating duties, eventually drawing a gonzo one-eyed ectoplasm that rises from the grave.) By the book's second page, Cavet has decided to show the actual death of old Man Wilkerson. ("After we pass on, there will be no more pie," says his wife sweetly - and then her grumpy husband snatches the plate away, ironically, while he's shouting "Then I ain't goin!") He stabs for a forkful of what he considered the perfect pumpkin pie, "But just as he raised it to his mouth, he froze... He gasped, and died."

And there's three illustrations of the death - the second showing multi-colored sparks shooting out of Wilkerson's eyes and head.

I was more disturbed by the stereotypical gender roles of the couple - but soon Mr. and Mrs. Wilkerson have both moved on - quite a bit. ("That same night, by the light of the Halloween moon, Mrs. Wilkerson buried Mr. Wilkerson in the pumpkin patch. The next day she put the house up for sale and moved away. She was never heard from again...") But the ghost story probably benefits from making Mr. Wilkerson unlikable. Now it's clear that the only chance the other characters have for escaping him is...a piece of perfect pumpkin pie.

A boy named Jack - and his grandmother - discover Wilkerson's ghost in their pumpkin patch.  It recites the menacing rhyme, and rejects a slice of their imperfect pie, then knocks the dishes from their cupboard and bangs the screen door. Grandma bakes a pie, but the ghost returns, dissatisfied, but still speaking its complaints in rhyme.  ("This pie is bland. It's underdone. Next time, pleeeeeease, MORE CINNAMON!") But the next time the ghost returns, she sasses him before he can finish his taunting poem - and then presents her latest creation.  It's kind of a relief when the ghost disappears, though by the end of the book, the unlucky family has picked up a second ghost, with its own rhyme.

"Apples, apples, apple pie!
I must have one before I die...."

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