Charlie, the smallest child in his first grade class, is amazed to discover that of the three pumpkins his teacher brings to school, the tiniest one has the most seeds. - (Baker & Taylor)

When Mr. Tiffin asks his class to guess the number of seeds inside each of the three different sized pumpkins placed on his desk, the guessing games begin and all are surprised to discover that the smallest one contains the most seeds of them all! - (Baker & Taylor)

Here is an adorable picture book for curious kids, which explores skip counting and estimation in a fun pumpkin-themed classroom experiment. "How many seeds are in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess. Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone's surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, "Small things have a lot going on inside of them." This book makes a wonderful read-aloud companion to any math or science curriculum, and it's a fun way to reinforce counting skills at home.

Margaret McNamara is the author of The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot, George Washington's Birthday, and the popular Robin Hill School early reader series. The Pumpkin Patch, in this series, was awarded the Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Best Book Gold Award. She lives in New York City.

G. Brian Karas is the versatile and acclaimed illustrator and writer of many books for children, including Are You Going to Be Good? (a New York Times Best Illustrated Book), Home on the Bayou (recipient of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award), and the bestselling Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candace Fleming. He lives in Rhinebeck, New York.

Booklist Reviews

This versatile and sincere story will teach math and science concepts while modeling kind behavior. When Mr. Tiffin brings three pumpkins into class for a math and science lesson, all the children guess how many seeds are inside. Charlie, the smallest kid in class, feels frustrated: "All the best guesses are taken." Then the class opens the pumpkins and counts the seeds. McNamara introduces the concepts of counting by twos, fives, and tens, and she includes pumpkin facts (the more lines on the pumpkin, the more seeds it will have). Charlie ends up with the correct guess and discovers that "small things can have a lot going on inside them." Karas' simple, effective illustrations, in the autumnal colors of a fall landscape, capture the multicultural students' feelings, especially Charlie's quiet confusion and eventual flush of pride and confidence.

Kirkus Reviews

The smallest boy in class learns an important lesson about size in this delightful tale that combines a boost in self-esteem and a math lesson. Charlie loves everything about school except lining up by size—he is always the smallest. One fall day, his teacher presents the class with three pumpkins: small, medium and large. They must predict how many seeds are in each, then do the messy but fun work of removing the seeds. For homework, they think of how they should count them all. One group counts by twos, one by fives and Charlie counts the smallest pumpkin's seeds by tens. The final tally is a surprise to everyone, with a not-so-subtle message that "Small things can have a lot going on inside them." A page of pumpkin facts will have readers wanting to grow their own pumpkins. Karas's watercolors charmingly portray Mr. Tiffin's busy class hard at work, but having fun learning. The children's faces vividly express the wide range of reactions to pumpkin guts, as well as Charlie's uncertainty about being the smallest. This will resound well with elementary-school teachers, who will find it useful for teaching prediction, skip counting and even beginning multiplication. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus 2007 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Reviews

K-Gr 2— Charlie, the smallest kid in class, hates lining up by size. One day, his teacher brings three pumpkins to school—small, medium, and large—and asks the children to guess which one contains the most seeds. After a round of guessing, they open them up and dig in to find out. This messy job yields a surprising answer that leaves Charlie saying, "Small things can have a lot going on inside them." Karas's characteristic watercolor illustrations done in a fall palette depict a diverse, modern classroom full of warm and humorous details. Spreads of the seeds sorted by twos, fives, and tens encourage readers to count along with the students. Intriguing facts about pumpkins, including how to tell which yield the most seeds, conclude the book. This enjoyable story, sprinkled with math and science lessons, should be a first-purchase consideration.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA