The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin [Hardcover]

Margaret Wise Brown (Author), Richard Egielski (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

There was once a small pumpkin
in a great big field,
A very small green pumpkin
the size of an apple.

The little pumpkin dreams that one day he will grow up to be a fierce yellow pumpkin who scares the field mice, like the scarecrow does.

Then one day in autumn, three children come to his field, and he unexpectedly gets the chance for his dream to come true. . . .

This long-lost treasure from the author of Goodnight Moon has never before been published. Who Better to bring it to life than Caldecott Medalist Richard Egielski? His rich, warm illustrations are the perfect complement to the inimitable words of Margaret Wise Brown.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3-In melodic, flowing prose, readers are introduced to a "fat little, round little, yellow little pumpkin in a great big field." Here the artist paints a huge, searing white sun rising behind the yellow-green pumpkin to contrast beautifully with him and make his eventual growth into a big, orange pumpkin vivid and dramatic. This little pumpkin dreams of making a "fierce, ferocious gobble-gobble face" to scare away the field mice "like the scarecrow does." The intense sun-gold skies match the mood here wonderfully. Somber grays and taupes on the next several pages provide visual contrast and slow down the pace so that children can take in more of the details. The little pumpkin feels a "crisp tingle that tickled [his] sides." After three children take him home and use a small saw knife to make his mouth "zigzag up and zigzag down," he says, "Ho, ho, ho!/He, he, he!/Mice will run/when they see me." The youngsters dance gleefully about him singing a song to the "terrific, terrible pumpkin." With Brown's rhythmic text and patterned language and Egielski's illustrations highlighting the moods she evokes, this title is a real treat for Halloween storytimes. Also, it's a surefire hit for creative drama activities because of all the action and emotion in the story.
James K. Irwin, Poplar Creek Main Library, Steamwood, IL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 1. In this previously unpublished story by Brown, a small green pumpkin grows into a "fat little, round little, yellow little pumpkin" who yearns to frighten away field mice, as the nearby scarecrow does. At the first frost, the pumpkin turns orange. Then, after being picked, hollowed out, and carved into a jack-o-lantern, he gets his wish. Egielski's artwork features subtle shadings and interesting juxtapositions of colors. The large-scale, wordless spread showing the jack-o-lantern's face is a winner, and throughout the book, the figures of the field mice are very expressively created. The story rolls along smoothly with a clear plot line and some nice phrasing. Although the text notes that the pumpkin looks ferocious in the end, this not-so-scary picture book would make a good classroom read-aloud choice for young children who like the idea of fright better than actually being frightened. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (August 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060244798
• ISBN-13: 978-0060244798
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 11.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,747,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper. Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Money!, September 13, 2007

By 

History_of_Art_Geek (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin (Hardcover)

Richard Egielski is an accomplished children's book artist; however, many of Egielski's scenes are bleak and depressing. A good artist can accomplish lively night scenes with lots of orange and gold tones, but many of these pages bear too many browns, and grays for my liking.

In addition, the jack-o-lantern is SCARY. He has spooky eyes and a large, crooked zigzag mouth. This book is recommended for children 3 to 6 years, but that creepy jack-o-lantern will scare half the target age. Another gripe is that the children appear no older then 6, yet they're dancing around with an 8" carving knife. I wouldn't allow my 6-year old to touch a knife that size, let alone skip around a field, and carve a jack-o-lantern with it. It's preposterous!

If this story was as endearing as Goodnight Moon, or The Runaway Bunny I'd be delighted to know that Ms. Brown's works were living on for generations to enjoy, but this story is inferior to those classics. The writing is average at best, in addition, the tale doesn't even mention the word Halloween. Beyond the jack-o-lantern, there isn't anything to let us know it takes place on Halloween, yet it's categorized as a piece of Halloween fiction.

My kid doesn't like this book, because it's boring. Mama doesn't like it, because it takes advantage of a popular children's book author that passed away many years ago.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grows on you, October 20, 2009

By 

H. Noelle K. Snow "noeller67" (Deerfield, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin (Paperback)

When I first purchased this book my husband thought it was a little "dark". But we have been reading it for 2 yrs to our kids and we now appreciate it for it's flowing prose and the artwork. It's definitely different and that's one of the reasons we like it!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Winner!, September 29, 2007

By 

Debra K - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin (Paperback)

I teach lower level 3rd graders. My children were able to repeat lines with me and interact throughout the reading of this book. The little rhyming poem about the mice being afraid of the pumpkin was perfect! My children chanted this for several days after we read the book together. They also drew illustrations to match the book.