As fall approaches, we love to watch the changing leaves, take walks to enjoy the cool weather and of course read and learn about PUMPKINS! If you are planning a pumpkin theme for your classroom or homeschool this fall, you’ll definitely want to check out these great pumpkin picture books!
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1. From Seed to Pumpkin By Wendy Pfeffer: I’m always happy with the books in the Let’s Read and Find Out series, and this book was no exception. This book gives a great deal of detailed information without being too wordy or over young kids’ heads. The pictures and real life examples make this book a great first nonfiction book about pumpkins.
2. Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie (Picture the Seasons) By Jill Esbaum:The real photos in this book are fantastic and provide a great comparison to the illustrations in the previous title.
3. How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? By Margaret McNamara: This book is great for combining math and science. Practice estimating, counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, and ordering objects along with the students in the book.
4. Pumpkin Jack By Will Hubbell: This book is an interesting way to investigate what happens after a pumpkin is carved. It gives a detailed look into decomposition, rotting and compost. A bit of a twist on a typical life cycle story.
5. The Biggest Pumpkin Ever By Steven Kroll: This is a precious classic pumpkin story that I remember reading as a child so I had to include it here. I love that the mice work together to achieve their goal and the cute illustrations capture little ones attention.
6. Pumpkin, Pumpkin By Jeanne Titherington: This is one of the simplest books out there about the life cycle of a pumpkin. The pictures are detailed and often teach even more than the words on the page.
7. Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden By George Levenson: I like this book mainly for its photos and close ups which show great details of the inside of a pumpkin and other pumpkin parts. There is also a nice directions page at the end of the book for planting and growing your own pumpkins.
8. Little Boo By Stephen Wunderli: This is easily one of my new favorite pumpkin stories. The story is about a little pumpkin seed who wants to be big and scary, but has a hard time waiting. He learns to be patient, a great but difficulty quality to teach young children.
9. Strega Nona’s Harvest By Tomie dePaola: We love the original Strega Nona, so I had to check this book out too. All of the familiar characters are included in this story celebrating harvest season and all of the hard work that lead up to it.
10. The Legend of Spookley By Joe Troiano: If you haven’t heard about Spookley the square pumpkin you must check this book out! This is a cute story about a pumpkin that is different and wants to be like all of the other pumpkins. He doesn’t fit in until he saves the other pumpkins by using his unique qualities as strengths!
11. I Like Pumpkins By Jerry Smath: I chose this book for the language included. “Some pumpkins are tall; some pumpkins are squat. Some pumpkins are big; some pumpkins are not.”
It is great for talking about adjectives and using descriptive words.
12. The Ugly Pumpkin By Dave Horowitz: This book is a bit of a twist on the classic Ugly Duckling story, with a poor little pumpkin searches for a place that he will fit in. The surprise ending will leave a smile on your face, and a new catch phrase you’ll find yourself repeating all season long.
If you are still a little overwhelmed trying to decide which books to use and what skills to practice, I am taking all the guesswork out of that for you!
I created this Pumpkins: Read & Respond resource to go along with 5 of my favorite pumpkin books above. It is the perfect way to strengthen comprehension and writing skills along with some fun craftivities to keep your kids engaged! And all of the activities are differentiated for K-2 and Common Core aligned.
Practice sequencing a story with Pumpkin, Pumpkin By Jeanne Titherington.
Activate schema, ask questions, and record new learning with From Seed to Pumpkin By Wendy Pfeffer plus create this fun Pumpkin Labeling Craft!
Then write an informational book “All About Pumpkins.”
Make connections and write a poem with I Like Pumpkins By Jerry Smath.
Infer meaning from the text with Strega Nona’s Harvest By Tomie dePaola.
And compose “How To” writing.
Identify the central message/lesson in The Legend of Spookley By Joe Troiano.
Then make this adorable square pumpkin craft.
You can grab all of these activities here Pumpkins: Read & Respond, happy fall!
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