The Pumpkin Book

"Narrator Polly Collier is very good. Her strong, clear voice makes her sound much like a teacher, and I appreciated her explanation to young listeners that she would be reading the text portion of a picture book...It's a wonderful book, full of interesting trivia..." - AudioFile

A little bat uses brains over brawn in this not-so-scary Halloween picture book. The witch has grown the biggest pumpkin ever, and now she wants to make herself a pumpkin pie for Halloween. But the pumpkin is so big she can't get it off the vine. It’s so big the ghost can’t move it, either. Neither can the vampire, nor the mummy. It looks as if there’ll be no pumpkin pie for Halloween, until along comes the bat with an idea to save the day. How can the tiny bat succeed where bigger and strong spooky creatures have failed? You'll be surprised!

After a jack-o-lantern's night in the spotlight, it gets discarded in the garden, where different animals, bugs, fungi, worms, slime molds, and microbes feed off of it and break it down into the soil, where its nutrients help a pumpkin seed grow.

Tells a parable in which the farmer turns a simple pumpkin into a glorious sight to illustrate that God wants His children to be full of light.

How does a small town in Iowa deal with an abundance of pumpkins, just as Halloween approaches?

When his beloved jack-o'-lantern starts to decompose, Tim puts it outside and watches it transform from pumpkin—to seed—to pumpkin again. The first pumpkin Tim ever carved was fierce and funny, and he named it Jack. When Halloween was over and the pumpkin was beginning to rot, Tim set it out in the garden and throughout the weeks he watched it change. By spring, a plant began to grow! Will Hubbell's gentle story and beautifully detailed illustrations give an intimate look at the cycle of life.

When Buck, Billy, and their little sister Lil spy the biggest pumpkin they've ever seen, they can't resist. Buck and Billy try to roll the pumpkin down the hill, but it's too big! The giant pumpkin bumps and thumps its way through the family farm, only to end up as a sumptuous evening feast. This rollicking read-aloud picture book is guaranteed to keep children and families laughing.

Gibbons describes how pumpkins come in different shapes and sizes, how they grow, and their traditional uses and cultural significance. Full-color illustrations.