PUMPKINS! Great Books for Kids


We love pumpkins.  Pumpkin pie. Pumpkins sitting in the garden or carved and sitting on the porch. This list features fun books to share that feature Pumpkins!

**all ratings from GoodReads


bookcover of Five Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino Five Little Pumpkins  (boardbook)
by Dan Yaccarino

3.99 avg rating — 1,167 ratings

Remember this one?
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late."
The second one said, "But we don't care."
The third one said, "I see witches in the air."
The fourth one said, "Let's run, and run, and run."
The fifth one said, "Get ready for some fun."
Then whoosh went the wind, and out went the lights,
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Dan Yaccarino's vivid drawings accompany this classic little 'finger play' poem.

sample pages from Yaccarino's Five Little Pumpkins
Reading Information: 
Word Count: 71
Page Count: 16
Accelerated Reading: 1.6 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 163002
Lexile: AD250L


bookcover of I Like Pumpkins  by  Jerry Smath I Like Pumpkins
by Jerry Smath

3.60 avg rating — 47 ratings

Pumpkins here, pumpkins there,
I see pumpkins everywhere!

Pumpkins, pumpkins they come in all sizes.
I like pumpkins, there full of surprises.


Official Description: Some pumpkins are tall; some pumpkins are squat. Some pumpkins are big; some pumpkins are not. It's that time of year again! The Halloween season is all about yummy candy, ghosts and goblins, and of course, pumpkins. In Jerry Smath's latest Halloween 8x8 title, a little girl tells her favorite things about pumpkins--like pumpkin masks, pumpkin seeds, and scary jack-o'-lanterns. But her favorite of all is . . . delicious pumpkin pie!

sample page from I LIKE PUMPKINS by Jerry Smath

no reading info available
Page Count: 32


bookcover of It's Pumpkin Time!  by Zoe Hall It's Pumpkin Time!
by Zoe Hall

** Starred review ALA booklist**
3.69 avg rating — 188 ratings

In this colorful book two children start preparing for Halloween in the Springtime! There's some early gardening information in this one, as well as kids' favorite activities -- making jack o'lanterns and dressing up in fun customs.

All summer long my brother and I get ready
for our favorite holiday.

Can you guess what it is?
Halloween!

And can you guess what we do to get ready?
We plant a jack-o-lantern patch!


sample page from IT'S PUMPKIN TIME! by Zoe Hall

Word Count: 243
Page Count: 40
Accelerated Reading: 2.3 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 58325
Lexile: 530L


bookcover of Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington Pumpkin Pumpkin
by Jeanne Titherington

3.73 avg rating — 290 ratings

Official Description: Softly colored pencil illustrations in a realistic style effectively communicate Jamie's pride as a very young gardener. He plants a seed, then grows and harvests a pumpkin from which he saves seeds for next year. The large, detailed drawings capture Jamie's anticipation and pleasure just right. The garden creatures appearing on every page and grandpa, whom we catch sight of now and then, are a delightful supporting cast. Nonreaders can easily follow the story in pictures alone. Very large, clear print on facing pages makes the simple narrative inviting for beginning readers, too. Libraries serving young children shouldn't miss this satisfying book in the tradition of Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson's The Carrot Seed (Harper, 1945) and Bijou Le Tord's Rabbit Seeds (Four Winds, 1984). The strong sense of the cycles of nature and a youngster's accomplishment make for a winning combination. Anna Biagioni Hart, Sherwood Regional Lib . , Alexandria, Va.

sample page #1 from PUMPKIN PUMPKIN by Jeanne Titherington

sample page #2 from PUMPKIN PUMPKIN by Jeanne Titherington

Nonreaders can easily follow the story in pictures alone. Very large, clear print on facing pages makes the simple narrative inviting for beginning readers, too. Libraries serving young children shouldn't miss this satisfying book in the tradition of Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson's The Carrot Seed (Harper, 1945) and Bijou Le Tord's Rabbit Seeds (Four Winds, 1984). The strong sense of the cycles of nature and a youngster's accomplishment make for a winning combination. Anna Biagioni Hart, Sherwood Regional Lib . , Alexandria, Va.

Word Count: 75
Page Count: 24
Accelerated Reader:  2.4 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 7238
Lexile: 260L


bookcover of Pumpkin Circle: The Story Of A Garden  by George Levenson Pumpkin Circle: The Story Of A Garden
by George Levenson

4.06 avg rating — 131 ratings

"A first-rate introduction to the growth cycle." -- Boston Globe

"A visually striking book…." -- Booklist

100 Best Titles for Reading & Sharing. Children’s Books 1999. -- Selected by, New York Public Library

1999 Top Ten Science Books for Youth -- Booklist

Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children for 2000 -- Selector’s Choice, NSTA/CBC

Fabulous color photographs and text that swoops and swirls tell us the life cycle of pumpkins from seeds to sprouts. Take a look at the sample pages Amazon has to see for yourself. This one is also available in Spanish!

sample page #1 from PUMPKIN CIRCLE: The Story Of A Garden  by George Levenson

sample page #2 from PUMPKIN CIRCLE: The Story Of A Garden  by George Levenson

Word Count: 448
Page Count:  40
Accelerated Reader:  3.0 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 55910
Lexile: NP

Spanish
Circulo De Las Calabazas: Historia De Un Huerto
Word Count: 448
Accelerated Reader:  3.0 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 55910SP


bookcover of How Many Pumpkin Seeds by Margaret McNamara How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin
by Margaret McNamara
G. Brian Karas (Illustrator)

4.07 avg rating — 302

Official Description: "HOW MANY SEEDs in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess. Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone's surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, "Small things have a lot going on inside of them."


sample page #1 HOW MANY SEEDS IN A PUMPKIN from by Margaret McNamara
 sample page #2 HOW MANY SEEDS IN A PUMPKIN from by Margaret McNamara

Word Count: 1,153
Page Count:  40
Accelerated Reading level: 3.2 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 116271


bookcover of Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper Pumpkin Soup
by Helen Cooper

** Starred review School Library Journal**


3.96 avg rating — 1,070 ratings

Official Description: A Cat, Squirrel, and Duck all share a home and chores, including soup making. One stirs, one slices, and one adds salt. Duck causes chaos when he/she decides they want to change jobs and run the show. Bad feelings result and Duck goes off to sulk. This absence leaves Cat and Squirrel floundering and deciding that the soup isn't quite a good as when Duck helped too. They go out to look for Duck but find him at home. The book ends with them agreeing to that maybe swapping chores isn't so bad. The results may not be as neat, the resulting soup is just as tasty.
Word Count: 750
Page Count:  32
Accelerated Reader:   3.1 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 44376
Lexile: AD310L

also available as Sopa De Calabaza!
Word Count: 723
Accelerated Reader: 3.4 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 4437SP


bookcover of Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll The Biggest Pumpkin Ever
by Steven Kroll
Jeni Bassett (Illustrator) 

4.06 avg rating — 609 ratings

Two adorable mice grow the BIGGEST pumpkin ever.

Word Count: 985
Page Count:
Accelerated Reader:  3.5 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 11160
Lexile: AD570L


bookcover of Pumpkins by Ken Robbins Pumpkins
by Ken Robbins

3.67 avg rating — 54 ratings

“...Robbins’ salute to this squash glimmers as brightly as a jack-o’-lantern.”—Booklist

“Robbins provides a crisp photographic account of Halloween’s iconic veggie.”—Publishers Weekly

“Certain to become an autumn favorite.”—School Library Journal

The author documents the life cycle of the pumpkin with close-up, naturalistic photos and clear, simple text.

Word Count: 455
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 3.7 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 110847


bookcover of The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis The Runaway Pumpkin
by Kevin Lewis
S.D. Schindler (Illustrator)

3.83 avg rating — 409 ratings

Rhythmic chorus makes this one a good read-aloud. The story has a huge careening pumpkin rolling down a hill towards a farm. But instead of running everyone is smacking their lips and thinking of good eats.

Word Count: 406
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 4.2 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 70841
Lexile: NP


For something entirely different try...

bookcover of Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold The Pumpkin Runner
by Marsha Diane Arnold
Brad Sneed (Illustrator)

3.98 avg rating — 62 ratings

Good one-on-one read.
Good group read too!

See Don's review here

Wonderful, inspiring story about a simple man.

Word Count: 1434
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 4.9 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 27972
Lexile Measure: 760L

compiled by GoodBooksforKids Staff
Updated October 2014