Customer Reviews

Five Little Pumpkins (Harper Growing Tree)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Personally, I'm glad to see that board books are finally coming into their own and receiving professional, editorial reviews! Too often, board books play a very distant 2nd fiddle to their larger (and longer) kin, the picture books.

I've read a good deal of board books in my time, and have found that while there are vast numbers of them, some are just plain poorly written or illustrated-I fancy because people feel that they're only being given to very young children, so what's the big deal?

It IS a big deal, and Mr. Yaccarino does an excellent job with this work. Based on a popular fingerplay (hold up 5 fingers and sing/say the rhyme), the book is likely to already be familiar to most infants & toddlers, especially around Halloween time. The illustrations are bold, very bright oils that capture the playful spirit of the fingerplay and the text is a big, bold, easy-to-read non-serif font that fully compliment the story (all too often, the text in board books is difficult to read or distinguish different letter shapes & patterns).

Our five little pumpkins, each with a different expression that stays constant throughout the book, begin by sitting on a gate as an impish ghost floats out of a chimney on a house in the background. The sun is setting, and it's time for some fun!

The pumpkins see witches in the air, talk with each other, and even get juggled by the ghost, who seems to be having the most fun. Children can practice mastery at color identification-"what color is the grass? "-and emotions-"can you find the sad pumpkin? "-as well as simply gain fine motor skills by handling the toddler-sized book and turning the thick pages. I work for a literacy outreach program, and highly recommend this book for both our program and for parents/caregivers who are scouting about for quality board books.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my it's getting late!"
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "But we don't care."
The fourth one said, "Let's run, let's run!"
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?"

Then Woooooo went the wind
And OUT went the lights.
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

My 2 1/2 year old just loves Halloween. It's only June as I write this and he's already asking if Halloween is coming soon almost on a daily basis. So when I saw this book at a yard sale I just had to pick it up. This delightful verse that has been around so long is accompanied by cute and spooky illustrations of pumpkins, ghosts, witches, and black cats. Just a delightful and sturdy little board book. Perfect for your little goblin.

Dan Yaccarino captures the essence of Halloween with simple, yet expressive pictures of pumpkins, ghosts and a black cat. My one year old son Ryan loves it when i read the story of the Five Little Pumpkins. He points to all the different pumpkin faces and loves their orange glow. The book wipes clean and withstands being dragged all over the house! I am a big fan of Dan Yaccarino's work, love his cartoon Oswald, so this book is a big Halloween fun delight!

I was a kindergarten teacher and this rhyme was a staple during the month of October. When I saw it had been made into a book, I got it for my 2 year old daughter. It is perfect for this age. Short, rhyming text and vibrant pumpkin pictures. My 4 year old twins like it too because they are so familiar with the rhyme they feel like they are reading it themselves. Definitely a favorite for Halloween in this house.

I'm writing this in December and my 9 month old twins still LOVE this book. It was supposed to be put away with the Halloween stuff but everytime I mentioned the word "pumpkin" they'd get so excited and my baby would say "Pa..pa.." The illustrations are very simple but the colors are bright and bold - perfect for babies. A really good pick for baby's first Halloween book!

I remember this song from early childhood, so I was thrilled to find a board book with it for my Grandsons. They love it. I read it then sing the song and we count the pumpkins. My 18 month old carries it around. I would definitely recommend this book.

This was the first Halloween story book I bought for my son when he was just a little over a year old. He's 8 now and it's still a favorite. We don't read it 5 - 10 times a day anymore, but it's a book that he loved so much as a toddler and has wonderful, un-scary rhymes so it's still in the October bedtime story rotation for now. Wonderful memories will always be associated with this book. =D

A cute book that is good any time of year. My 4 yr old learned it in school word for word after the teacher taught it to the class. I purchased a copy because he is now learning to read the words he memorized.

The copy is so cute it will make you smile.

The rhyme of Five Little Pumpkins is SO easy to read and memorize, the board book holds up very well, and the illustrations are very endearing--the jack-o-lantern faces are expressive and the colors are beautiful. This book made my 20-month-old son a jack-o-lantern fan, and I haven't gotten tired of reading it to him yet!

This story is based on the 5 Little Pumpkins song and finger play. The pictures are bright and simple, and the words are easy to remember. This was a big hit with my preschoolers. I am glad they have brought it out in board book version (I had the paperback and it was pretty easily destroyed).

Great for very young children and for reading over and over and over again!