It’s no secret that I LOVE books. Throw in some pumpkins and fall fun and you have some of my favorite types of books. I’m sharing with you today The Best Pumpkin Read Alouds.
Pumpkins are such a fun topic to learn about. There are so many fun activities that can be done alongside all of the books below.
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The Best Pumpkin Read-Alouds
From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
In the fall, pumpkins are everywhere: in the garden, in the supermarkets, and on doorsteps. But do you know how they grow from a tiny yellow seed to a pumpkin? This is a great book for young kids to learn the life cycle of a pumpkin.
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara
Charlie, the smallest boy in his class, is left to count the seeds of the smallest pumpkin. Both he and his classmates are surprised when his pumpkin has the most seeds. This is a great way to introduce counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s.
Our pumpkin seed counting mats would be a fun extension to the book too. Use real pumpkin seeds to practice counting.
Mystery Vine: A Pumpkin Surprise by Cathryn Falwell
This book provides a simple, colorful tribute to growing a pumpkin just in time for Halloween. Children plant seeds for a garden; a mystery vine appears, “First came lettuce, crisp, and crunching. Bright green peas, so good for munching. Radishes all in a line…But what was that young Mystery Vine?” They tend it and the other plants and come fall discover that the mystery plant is producing pumpkins just in time for Halloween.
These life cycle hats from seed go perfectly with the above books as your little learners are learning all about how pumpkins grow and their life cycle.
Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
Although this book has few words, it’s wonderful to teach the life cycle of a pumpkin. This is a great book to teach that pictures sometimes tell more of the story than the words. The seed, sprouts, the sprout grows into a plant and gets bigger on each page. The words don’t tell this, but the pictures do. Students are engaged as they search for changes in a pumpkin’s life cycle. The pictures are a bit muted, but I still like the book for its simplicity.
Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell
In this book, you learn about the life cycle of a pumpkin through this charming story of a boy who named his pumpkin ‘Jack.’ After Halloween, the ‘Jack’ begins to rot and goes through the seasons until his seeds sprout in the spring–starting all over again.
Our How Does A Pumpkin Grow? fill in the blank book is an easy activity the can go along with this book too.
Pick A Perfect Pumpkin Learning about Pumpkin Harvests by Robin Koontz
This is a great book about a boy and a girl’s visit to a pumpkin farm. It touches on everything from how pumpkins grow to all the different colors and sizes of pumpkins. A great book to read before or after your field trip to the pumpkin patch.
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White
When she was young, Rebecca’s family was so poor that they ate pumpkin after pumpkin. Now a white-haired older woman, she can’t bear the sight of them. So when a truck accidentally drops a pumpkin in Rebecca’s garden, she won’t even look at it. But after growing season she’s astonished to discover a whole garden of big, beautiful pumpkins. Rebecca makes the most of it, and we love what happens next. It’s a wonderful lesson about helping others.
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll
Two little mice, a village and a field mouse, both have their hearts set on a beautiful pumpkin. During the day, the village mouse carefully tends the pumpkin – and at night, the field mouse does the same. One can’t wait to bring the pumpkin to the county fair, while the other wants to make it into a giant jack-o’-lantern. This is a cute story and I love that the mice become friends at the end of the story.
We also have a literacy snack and free printable to go along with this book too. You can check that out here.
How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? by Wendell Minor
This is a great book with vibrant illustrations. It includes neat little facts about states while incorporating math and comparison concepts.
I Like Pumpkins by Jerry Smath
I Like Pumpkins is a cute rhyming book that shows children all the ways to compare and contrast pumpkins.
Pete the Cat: Five Little Pumpkins by James Dean
This is the Pete the Cat version of the classic poem Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate. It’s always a favorite.
We have a super fun free craft activity to go along with this book too. It’s a great way to help them retell the story. You can get the details and download it here.
Splat the Cat and the Pumpkin-Picking Plan by Catherine Hapka
In this book, Splat the Cat heads to the pumpkin patch to pick a perfect pumpkin. Getting it home will be a challenge in itself in the end. This would be a fun read-aloud before you head to the pumpkin patch.
Our pumpkin patch bingo is perfect to play before or after your field trip too!
The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano
Spookley the Square Pumpkin was different. All the other pumpkins teased him until Spookley proved that being different can save the day!
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
Duck, Squirrel, and Cat live together contentedly, each with his own job to make pumpkin soup – until Duck decides he wants a different job. When Squirrel and Cat won’t let him switch, he runs away. The book ends with a peaceful solution. The kids will be able to relate to the difficulties that come with friendship.
Little Boo by Stephen Wunderli
The story is about a little pumpkin seed who wants to be big and scary but has a hard time waiting for it to happen over time as he grows. He keeps trying to scare grubs, caterpillars, a shovel, and other garden items, but he’s sad that he isn’t scaring them. The seed grows into a sprout, then a vine, (story skips over the small green pumpkin part of a pumpkin life cycle), a big orange pumpkin, and finally a Jack-o-Lantern.
Our pumpkin craft is a fun one to make alongside this book.
Do you have any other favorite pumpkin read alouds that you would add to our list?
See you next time!
jenette
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