Pumpkin picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.
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❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗
Lilly’s Surprise Pumpkins
by Beth Charles (Author), Anna Aronson (Illustrator)
Summary: Lilly notices sprouts from their compost pile and asks her parents what they are. She learns about the pumpkin life cycle, which animals feed on them, and natural ways to protect the patch.
Comments: Additionally, this picture book also has informative backmatter about composting and pumpkin recipes.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Millie Fleur’s Pumpkin Problem
by Christy Mandin (Author, Illustrator)
Summary: Garden Glen is beautifully manicured with bright flora until Autumn arrives. However, Millie Fleur continues with color by planting a unique pumpkin patch. Her magical shed escapes spilling seeds all over town.
Comments: This story is full of alliteration and descriptive adjectives. It goes well with garden life cycles, creative problem-solving, and fall units.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
The Great Pumpkin Pancake Party
by Celeste Pewter (Author), Kelly Wu (Illustrator)
Summary: Lilly’s Lao Ye (maternal grandfather) stays with her family. He learns about American traditions and teaches his granddaughter about Chinese pumpkin pancakes. For Halloween, he puts out tables in the front yard including orange paper lanterns to celebrate his pumpkin pancakes with the neighbors.
Comments: This is a lovely book with intergenerational bonding and cultural traditions. Teachers can use it to introduce family heritage and autumn-themed STEM activities.
This story is based on the author’s real tradition she has with her grandfather who immigrated from Taiwan. The pancake pumpkin recipe is in the back.
Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
The Pumpkin Thief
by Alice Hemming (Author), Nicola Slater (Illustrator)
Summary: Squirrel and Bird plant pumpkin seeds causing five to grow. Squirrel claims the largest one and is doing some gardening when he notices that they are slowly disappearing. He follows the clues and tries to figure out the mystery.
Comments: This is a humorous mystery that has several mystery elements: clues, predictions, and inference.
Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Squash & Pumpkin: #SquashGoals
by G.G. McQueen (Author), Michael Slack (Illustrator)
Summary: Pumpkin and Squash are best friends until autumn arrives, when Pumpkin becomes famous. Everywhere she goes, people adore her: pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes, and pumpkin soup.
At the Harvest Festival, Acorn Squash sets up a booth showcasing all the delicious squash dishes. Their friendship turns into a competition, but they eventually find a solution together.
Comments: A humorous read-aloud about friendship.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link)..
See a Pumpkin Grow (See It Grow!)
by Kirsten Chang (Author)
Brief summary: Young readers will learn the pumpkin’s life cycle and what uses there are with this fruit.
Comments: Words and photos are large, with many nonfiction text features. The back sections are Glossary, To Learn More, and Index.
This book also comes in library binding.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
This is part of the See It Grow! series.
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
The Pie That Molly Grew
by Sue Heavenrich (Author), Chamisa Kellogg (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Molly plants a pumpkin seed and transplants the sprout to watch it grow into a vine with yellow flowers. After all of the care she has given to produce the ripened pumpkin, Molly bakes a pie.
Comments: Cumulative story of the pumpkin’s life cycle.
The back pages have four additional informative sections: American Pie, How to Turn a Pumpkin Into Pie, When You’re Ready to Make the Pie…, and No Bees.No Pie.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Pumpkin Day at the Zoo
by Susan Meissner (Author), Pablo Pino (Illustrator)
Brief summary: It’s Pumpkin Day at the zoo. On this special day, zoo animals receive yummy pumpkins to eat from families who donate their uncarved and unpainted pumpkins.
Comments: The illustrations are vivid and humorous. The text is a mix of fonts and sizes that are fun to say aloud with many descriptive adjectives, alliterations, and all in rhyming sentences.
The back page does have a word about pumpkin donations to zoos.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
There Was an Old Lady Who Picked a Pumpkin!
by Lucille Colandro (Author), Jared Lee (Illustrator)
Brief summary: There was an old lady who went on the school bus to a farm looking for a pumpkin patch. She and the students follow the sign and see many farm items before finding the patch. Each child picks out a pumpkin and hops back onto the bus.
Comments: This is a fun fall early reader in rhyme. The book is not the usual cumulative “There was an old lady” who eats something book.
Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Lila and the Jack-o’-Lantern: Halloween Comes to America
by Nancy Churnin (Author), Anneli Bray (Illustrator)
Summary: Lila, an Irish immigrant, is on the ship in 1850 with her mother and two siblings on the way to America, where their father waits for them to join him. They talk about a spirit named Jack that visits homes on Halloween night to play pranks. To keep him away, families would carve a turnip and place a glowing coal inside, so Jack sees it and leaves them alone. Children also wear sheets and knock on doors for sweets. When Lila arrives and sees that there are no turnips, she improvises with the help of her new friend Julia, who learns about the foods and traditions of Halloween in Ireland.
Comments: This would be an excellent read-aloud for students to learn the origins of Halloween.
The back pages are Author’s Note and Colcannon and Barmbrack.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
The selected children’s books are chosen by a highly qualified retired elementary school librarian, who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.
Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.