Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie
By Jill Esbaum
(Scholastic, Inc., 2009; National Geographic Kids)

Pumpkins are one of my favorite signs of fall. I adore pumpkins and cannot wait for the season of my dreams to roll around and please me with the smells, sights, and sounds of leaves, pumpkins, and cooler temps.

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie is a beautifully photographed nonfiction picture book about the pumpkin life cycle. The pumpkin life stages are shown through photos. Examples of ways we use pumpkins (carving, eating, baking, floating, etc.) are shown in full color. There is such a wide variety of seasonal sights featured in this book, I love reading it just for ideas that get me in the mood for pumpkin hunting.

Young readers will be inspired to hit the pumpkin patch and choose a favorite pumpkin - be it orange, yellow, green, white, smooth, lumpy, tiny, or enormous.

KID KANDY:

Grow Pumpkin Vocabulary

1. Visit a pumpkin patch or even just the grocery store fall display.

2. Check out the pumpkins and squash. There are so many wonderful and varied types of both.

3. Touch, smell, and compare the pumpkins.

4. Use all the words you can think of to describe the pumpkins - smooth, lined, warty, bumpy, striped, fat, flat, huge, petite, and so on. Make a long list.

5. Let your child choose a favorite pumpkin to take home.

6. Describe the pumpkin using vocabulary words. Make it exciting!

7. Happy pumpkin day!

I can't wait to go visit a pumpkin patch and find pumpkins to use for decorations.