Printer friendly version October Picture Book Play- A Review and So Much More By Kimberly M. Hutmacher   One tradition that my husband and I began long before we had children and continue to this day with our three little ones is an annual visit to our local pumpkin patch. Each of us loves searching the patch for the perfect pumpkin! Round, oval-shaped, short or tall, we're fascinated by each and every one. To accompany our pumpkin patch finds, we're also always on the lookout for great pumpkin picture books. Below you'll find our favorites along with a few ideas for pumpkin fun. Enjoy! Featured Books Written and Illustrated by Will Hubbell Albert Whitman and Company 6340 Oakton Street Morton Grove, Illinois 60053-2723 32 Pages When Tim carved his first pumpkin, it was fierce and funny and just perfect. A jack-o-lantern this good deserved a name, so Tim gave it one- "Jack." Discarded after Halloween, Tim's beloved jack-o-lantern eventually grows new pumpkins from its old seeds. The perfect text gave me the opportunity to feel Tim's pride and joy as he carved his pumpkin, his sorrow as his jack-o-lantern began to deteriorate and his excitement and hope when he found the new pumpkin plants. This beautifully illustrated picture book tells a wonderfully hopeful story about the cycle of life. Written by George Levenson Photography by Shmuel Thaler Tricycle Press P.O. Box 7123 Berkeley, California 94707 40 Pages Deep within each pumpkin The air is damp and cool. The walls are lined with teardrop seeds, Each one a slippery jewel. Sometimes it's difficult to find a nonfiction book that will keep a young child's interest. As you can tell from the sample text above, that won't be a problem with this book full of gorgeous words and photographs. The life of a pumpkin as told in this book from beginning to end, to beginning, will hold a young child's interest from beginning to end, over and over again! You'll also find a resourceful page at the back of the book that explains to young readers how to grow their own pumpkins.   Written by Eve Bunting Illustrated by Eileen Christelow Clarion Books 215 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10003 40 Pages We all hold hands and sing a song Of pumpkins round and pumpkins long, Of pumpkins fat and pumpkins lean And pumpkins somewhere in between. This is just a small taste of what you will see at the pumpkin fair. You'll also see, among other things, pumpkin bands, pumpkin games and pumpkin pie! With lively text and pictures, Eve Bunting and Eileen Christelow show that they certainly know how to celebrate the beauty and joy of pumpkins!   Playtime 1. Take your own trip to the pumpkin patch! Use this opportunity to sort pumpkins by size, shape and color. Don't forget to count them! Most patches also have a pretty good assortment of gourds. Be sure to discuss these peculiar looking characters, too! 2. Decorate a pumpkin! Provide children with markers, paints, yarn (for hair), scissors, glue and a pumpkin, of course. Let them create their own original works of pumpkin art to be displayed prominently throughout the season. More reading for pumpkin fun. For more fun Halloween stories enjoy Five Little Pumpkins, written and illustrated by Iris Van Rynbach and Mouse's Halloween Party, written by Jeanne Modesitt and illustrated by Robin Spowart. Learn how to carve the perfect pumpkin with<Great Pumpkins: Crafty Carvings for Halloween, written by Peter Cole and Jessica Hurley with photographs by Kate Kunath. You can find more pumpkin crafts and activities in Homemade Halloween, from Chronicle Books and The Halloween Activity Book, written by Mymi Doinet and illustrated by Benjamin Chaud.