This is a straight-up fantastic read-aloud. It is so difficult to find great nonfiction read-alouds for storytime, but the rhyming and pictures were absolutely sublime. The preschool kids that I read this to were engaged and learned a lot about pumpkins (and their parents wanted to go home and plant some). Definitely recommend to storytime librarians and teachers to read aloud during the fall season and to parents looking for great informational texts to read to/with their kids. ( )

Beautiful pictures of the growth, use of a pumpkin for a jack-o-lantern, decomposition and return to the soil. Clever pictures of a child with her pumpkin. Information on "How to Grow Pumpkins".

I liked this book for three reasons. First, I liked the illustrations. They were actual photo images of the pumpkins. This helped to accompany the text because it was informational and the photos added details to the writing. Second, I liked the way the writing was organized. It began explaining the seed and went through all of the cycles of the pumpkin, ending with the seeds again to show the reader the full circle and that the growth of pumpkins happen in a continuous cycle. Third, I like the language. The author used more formal and technical language to explain the pumpkins because it was an informational text. However, the author still wrote in a way that made the pumpkin cycle seem exciting and engaging to readers. The theme of this book was the cycle of growth of pumpkins. ( )

discusses the different aspects of a pumpkin garden: How the pumpkins grow, the insects that are there, the flowers that bloom, the sun that is needed.
4 books

53 months- I was informed that O had already read this book on her Reading Rainbow App but we read it again anyway and I think she enjoyed it even more in the paper version. Fantastic photographs and a great rhythm to the story when read allowed. This is a nice life cycle of a plant type story. I so wish we had the space in the yard to grow pumpkins. ( )