Pumpkin Town! ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

Pumpkin Town! (Or, Nothing Is Better and Worse Than Pumpkins)
By Katie McKy
Illustrated by Pablo Bernasconi
(Scholastic, Inc., 2006)

It's pumpkin time! Jose and his family grow pumpkins in a variety of sizes, from too small all the way to giant and too big to carry.

Before the pumpkins could be hauled off to market, Jose and his brothers had to find the biggest and best seeds from a few choice pumpkins.The rest of the seeds could then be tossed off the hill overlooking the town.

One very windy day, the tossed seeds were carried over the town and fell like rain. What happens next is too funny!

Readers will love this tale of pumpkins. Clever illustrations tell the rest of the tale. It's time for Pumpkin Town! (Or, Nothing Is Better and Worse Than Pumpkins).

KID KANDY:

Save Some Seeds

Jose and his family saved seeds every year for the next year's crop of pumpkins.

Let's do the same thing.

1. Visit a pumpkin patch or farmers market. Choose a pumpkin. There are so many varieties to choose from, I know it will be a difficult choice.

2. Decorate your porch or yard with your pumpkin until it is time to carve it. (Hint: If you carve a jack-o-lantern too early, it will rot before the end of October.)

3. Carve (with help) your pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern. Save the seeds!

4. Before you cook the seeds (you have to cook them - they are fantastic to eat), choose 5 or 6 of the biggest, best seeds. Let them dry and keep them in an envelope until next spring.

5. In the spring, plant your pumpkin seeds in the garden. You will have your own pumpkin patch!

What is your favorite thing you do with pumpkins?