Pumpkin Pie Time

I was just thinking about pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday and I have a great deal to be thankful for this year. I will thank God for my many blessing and make sure that my family knows how thankful I am for all that they bring to my life. i realize that Thanksgiving is not about food, but I just can't stop thinking about all the great desserts I am going to taste this week. Pumpkin pie got me to thinking about pumpkin books. So here are two quick reviews for this holiday season. 

“The Very Best Pumpkin”

By Mark Moulton
Illustrated by Karen Hillard Good
For ages 4 – 8
A gentle story about nurture and friendship, “The Very Best Pumpkin” follows a young boy named Peter as he helps raise pumpkins on his grandparent’s farm. While Peter takes special care of a lone pumpkin, Meg watches from afar. Meg’s family is new to the area so she spends most of her time reading. When October rolls around Peter’s lone pumpkin is ready for picking an d a friendship begins to grow.
Rated: 3 (values, friendship)
What’s good: Good for story times that lead up to preschool field trips.
What’s bad: Meg’s character is a little flat.

“How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?”
By Margaret McNamara
Illustrated by G. Brian Karas
For ages 3 - 7
The message for this story is, “Good things come in small packages.” Or maybe, “Don’t judge a book by its cover." Either way, it's a good message to teach your children.

Charlie is the smallest child in his class, which means he's usually the last picked for games and sports. But Charlie doesn’t let that stop him from enjoying school. One day Charlie's teacher brings three pumpkins into the class and asks the kids to decide which one has the most seeds. Naturally they guess it is the largest of the pumpkins. After scooping them out and using their math skills they find that some small things have a lot to offer. Rated: 3 (values, math, science)
What’s good: Good use of math and science facts.
What’s bad: Not much that's bad for this age group.