Describes how pumpkins come in different shapes and sizes, how they grow, and their traditional uses and cultural significance, and offers instructions for carving a pumpkin and drying the seeds. - (Baker & Taylor)

School Library Journal Reviews

PreS-Gr 3-Another example of Gail Gibbons' excellent treatment of a popular nonfiction topic for young students, The Pumpkin Book (Holiday, 1999) explains the planting, cultivating, and harvesting of pumpkins using bold illustrations and simple text. The book is narrated by Polly Collier in a deliberate, unenthusiastic manner that emergent readers might find boring. She carefully explains the page-turn signals (on Side A only) and that the words at the bottom of the page are read first and then the words on the upper "picture" section of the page are read. Most of the words in the upper section are labels of plant structures and pumpkin varieties, and having these words narrated between the reading of the text could confuse young listeners. A well-written book on a popular topic, this title does not transfer successfully to the audio format.-Shauna Yusko, King County Library System, Bellevue, WA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.