Applegate, Katherine. Never Race a Runaway Pumpkin. HarperCollins, 2009. Roscoe is determined to guess the weight of a giant pumpkin in order to win books for his school library and candy for himself, but he is overwhelmed by superstitions, especially about a certain black kitten. Series Beard, Alex. The Jungle Grapevine. Abrams Books, 2009. Reminiscent of Chicken Little, this cleverly illustrated book demonstrates how rumors get started and quickly get out of hand. 1