"Nearly all the sheep ranchers in Blue Gum Valley rode horses or drove jeeps to check on their sheep. But Joshua Summerhayes liked to run...with Yellow Dog trailing behind him."

For fifty years, fueled by the pumpkins from his special pumpkin patch, Joshua has been running to check on newborn lambs and rescue injured sheep. Folks say he's getting too old to run around a ten-thousand-acre ranch, but Aunt Millie knows better. "As long as he's got pumpkins to eat, he'll keep running," she says.

Then Joshua hears about the Koala-K, a race from Melbourne to Sydney. With Yellow Dog at his side and Aunt Millie cooking up his favorite pumpkin dishes, Joshua figures they can "see two cities and get in a little run as well." People laugh when old Joshua shows up in his overalls and orange gumboots, calmly nibbling a slice of pumpkin. But before long, folks start to take notice...especially Damien Dodgerelie, who everyone says is a shoo-in to win.

Inspired by a true story, Marsha Diane Arnold packs plenty of excitement and emotion into her tale of a humble hero whose sheer love of a good run makes him a winner. With Brad Sneed's vibrant, energetic illustrations, The Pumpkin Runner is a shoo-in to win readers from New York to Sydney.

From the dust jacket