The Pumpkin Book

The Pumpkin Book, by Gail Gibbons, is a great resource for a nonfiction look at pumpkins.  We like to start looking at books like this by taking a picture walk. We enjoyed seeing the labeled illustrations of different kinds of pumpkins. Even young children can begin to develop an understanding of the growth of a pumpkin from the interesting pictures in this book. 

Ways to plant pumpkins in a patch and on a farm are described by Gibbons.  Various aspects of what is needed in nature for successful pumpkin growth is also discussed.  The book also shows the use of pumpkins at Halloween and Thanksgiving times.  

Older children could use this book to develop charts about pumpkin development.  The illustrations delightfully explain the text so that listeners/viewers/readers can all enjoy learning. We found this to be a great book to add to our autumn reading. We love reading books by Gail Gibbons and hope you enjoy this one, too!

Question Collection:

*Which pumpkin varieties have you seen before?

*Can you explain how a pumpkin seed grows?

*What’s your favorite use of pumpkins?  Why?

Autumn Book Collection

If you're looking for some books about Autumn, check out our Autumn book reviews.  Happy Autumn Reading!

The Leaves on the Trees

Learning more about nature is a high priority in our home!  We love to look at nature guides to learn more, but it is often difficult to find simple words and illustrations.  The Leaves on the Trees, by Thom Wiley, is a good way to introduce leaf identification to young children.  The simple text is accompanied by illustrations of different kinds of leaves as seen in the fall.  The repeating refrain that autumn is here reinforces the changes that are taking place in the leaves’ color.   This is a great book to take along on an autumn walk!

Question Collection:

*How many of the leaves can you find?

*Which leaf is your favorite?

*Are there any other ways to describe the different kinds of leaves?

One is a Feast for Mouse

Teaching gratitude is important to our family.  The book, One is a Feast for Mouse, A Thanksgiving Tale, written by Judy Cox and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler, is a fun, engaging story that lends itself to good family discussion.  Mouse goes searching for Thanksgiving leftovers with the mantra, “Give thanks….One will be a feast for me”.  But as more tempting foods appear, one becomes more and more.  The author and illustrator paint vivid pictures as Mouse starts accumulating more than he needs or can handle.  Mouse has to scramble quickly as Cat challenges his feast. We like this book because we enjoy reading about Mouse and the lesson he learns about giving thanks for what is sufficient.  We hope reading this book will help you and your family as you contemplate giving thanks!

Question Collection:

*What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?

*What is the moral of this story?

*Have you ever felt like Mouse?

Fall Mixed Up

Fall Mixed Up, written by Bob Raczka and illustrated by Chad Cameron is a humorous look at fall happenings.  Using a rhyming pattern, the author tells about fall, except the events are all wrong!  For example, “apples turn orange, pumpkins turn red” according to the rhyme.  Primary school age children will especially enjoy the humor and be quick to point out what’s wrong.  We had some good laughs reading this book!

Question Collection:

*Which “mix-up” did you think was the funniest?

*Which picture did you like the best?

*How many “mix-ups” did you find?

*Can you think of a rhyme to add to this book?

Gobble Gobble Crash!

Gobble Gobble Crash! by Julie Steigmeyer, is one of my favorite read alouds!  The rhyming and cadence of the words just enhance the humorous tale of turkeys that crash into a sleepy farm.  Although not specifically a Thanksgiving book, it’s such a fun book to read about some hilarious turkeys!

 Gobble Gobble Crash! is also a counting book as counting numbers are used as the farm is described.   The word choice used by the author paints vivid pictures of the turkeys’ actions.  Children can cheer on the animals as they decide to help the turkeys from becoming the Farmer’s feast.  It is just a laugh out loud book that we hope you enjoy!

Question Collection:

*What’s the funniest part of the story to you?

*Can you find the turkeys that are hiding from the Farmer?

*Can you remember some of the rhyming words from the story?

Fisher Price Little People Thanksgiving Celebration

We love having items/toys in our home that promote retelling of stories.  Retelling is a great way for children to make stories become their own stories.  We like to tell the story initially, let play times happen with the items, and then see if the stories will be told.  If they’re not, then we give prompts.  Usually, though, children start retelling stories they’ve heard. 

A Fisher Price set we’ve used for several years is the Little People Thanksgiving Celebration.  It’s much like the Christmas set that we use to retell the Nativity story.  This set comes with two Native American figures and two Pilgrim figures along with a table, benches, food (turkey, of course!), scenery, and a donkey with a wagon.

It’s so much fun to hear a child’s perspective on the First Thanksgiving!  Another fun way to collect memories is to record your child retelling the story, especially recording it as part of your Thanksgiving tradition.  We hope you enjoy this set as much as we have and make your own family memories with it!

Thanksgiving Day Alphabet

We like to read seasonal books so we were happy to find the Thanksgiving Day Alphabet written by Beverly Barras Vidrine and illustrated by Alison Davis Lyne.  It joins another book we like to read about Thanksgiving, T is for Turkey. The book provides a nice way to introduce children to various historical aspects of our Thanksgiving holiday in an interesting way.  The bold graphic alphabet letter frames the illustrations so the letter is very obvious and grabs a child’s attention.  These illustrations lend themselves to taking a picture walk through the book first, especially for younger children who are learning more about Thanksgiving.  We hope you like reading and learning more about Thanksgiving!

Question Collection:

*What new vocabulary did you learn from reading this book?

*What new facts did you learn from this book?
*Which illustration did you like best?

Read more children's ABC books here!

P is for Pumpkin

 Enjoy the fall season with P is for Pumpkin!  It's a great book to learn more about God while observing fall activities, practicing alphabet skills, and listening for rhymes.   Children learning to read can read the captions which accompany each page (A is for Apple) while the adult can read the rhyming verses at the top of the page.  We love reading this book together!  Enjoy!


Question Collection:


*What words rhyme on this page?
*What's your favorite fall activity?
*Which of these activities would you like to try?
*Which of God's fall blessings have you seen?
*Are there any fall activities you would add to the book?

Read more children's ABC books here!

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

Making a trip to an apple orchard at this time of year is a fun family event.  We also enjoy reading How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, by Marjorie Priceman, as a part of autumn.  If you and your child haven’t read this book yet, you’re in for a real treat.  The humor of the situation of a market being closed leads to a trip around the world to find ingredients to make an apple pie.  Various modes of transportation are used as each country is visited, adding to the creative fun.

Taking a picture walk through this book can increase a child’s anticipation of listening to and/or reading the text.  The maps on the inside cover add to the enjoyment of being able to track the progress of discovering the ingredients in other countries.

We used the recipe in the book and enjoyed eating the apple pie we made.  If you’re looking for some ideas for an apple tasting party, the author has included those on the back cover.  This great book provides a great reading experience!  Enjoy!

Question Collection:

*What was your favorite country that was visited?

*Which mode of transportation was your favorite?

*Which part of the book was the funniest to you?

Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks

Learning to be thankful is a character trait we all can learn.  Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks, by Margaret Sutherland, is a thoughtful book that can be read and enjoyed by children and parents.  The illustrations by Sonja Lamut add to the simple beauty of the story.  As a parent I particularly enjoy the explanations that accompany the thankful listings.  As we try to get our children to articulate what they are thankful for, it’s important we help them tell why.  This book is a great way to explore giving thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Question Collection:

*Are you thankful for any of the things that are listed in the book?

*What things are you thankful for that aren’t listed?  Why?

*Which people have you told you’re thankful for them?

*How do you show you’re thankful?

T is for Turkey

Alphabet books are a favorite in our home library.  They were a great way to learn the alphabet and now have become a great way to introduce those early learning skills.  After several rereadings of alphabet books children can read “A is for…” that appear in most alphabet books. 

A recently discovered alphabet book for us is T is for Turkey, by Tanya Lee Stone.  This book uses the alphabet to teach children facts about the history of Thanksgiving.  We’ve discussed that although Abraham Lincoln is in this book, he wasn’t with the Pilgrims---he was the President who established the first Thanksgiving.  There are other examples that will require explanation, but we’ve learned more about Thanksgiving by reading this book.

Question Collection:

*What did you learn about Thanksgiving?

*Which picture in the book did you like best?

*What can you do to help others have a good Thanksgiving? 

Read more children's ABC books here!

Five Silly Turkeys

Indoor kinesthetic activities are important for young children during inclement weather.  We love reading and acting out Five Silly Turkeys, by Salina Yoon.  Bright colors, rhyming words, and the crinkly feathers that turn with each page make this a fun book for young children.  It is a much requested book in our reading time and has quickly become one we’ve memorized! 

Question Collection:

*Which page is the silliest to you?

*Can you find the rhyming words for the numbers?

*Which activity would you like to do most?

The Littlest Pilgrim

Children love to help!  During the busyness of holiday preparation it can be easy to overlook how children want to help, but may not know how.  The Littlest Pilgrim, by Brandi Dougherty, explores this feeling through Mini, the Littlest Pilgrim.  Mini’s determination in finding a way to help can provide a role model for children to never give up.   There’s also a subtle lesson for parents in this book about listening to children!

Question Collection:

*How did Mini finally find a way to help?

*Did you think Mini would give up or keep trying?

*What ways can you help at Thanksgiving?

*How is making a friend a way to help?

*Have you ever helped a friend by being nice?

Autumn Walk

Outdoor time with a book can be an exhilarating time for a child.  Autumn Walk, by Ann Burg, is a board book that invites children to enjoy the outside activities of autumn.  This book skillfully paints visual pictures of autumn’s beauty through rhymes and vivid words.  As we go through autumn, it’s been fun to be outside and recall the various pictures in this book, making those important connections in developing literacy.

Question Collection:

*What’s your favorite thing to do outside in autumn?

*What colors do you see in nature in autumn?

*Why are the animals preparing in the autumn?

*Can you pretend you are one of the animals and act out what it is doing?