From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-"Come look inside my patch and see/A world of life from A to Z." Sloat's rhymed text follows Patty from seedtime through harvest as she grows and sells pumpkins on her farm. The larger illustrations at the top of each page introduce readers to the work and care required to produce a crop. A bird, insect, or other animal that lives in or around the patch is featured at the bottom of each page, in alphabetical order, along with the upper and lowercase letter it represents. Older children will enjoy locating the creatures in the larger pictures above. This book will be a definite hit with those who have the opportunity to select their own Halloween pumpkins, but even children who have never set foot on such a farm can share the experience through the vivid illustrations done in acrylic and oil pastel. Zoe Hall's It's Pumpkin Time! (Scholastic, 1994) also effectively portrays the raising of pumpkins for the preschool set, but Sloat's work will be enjoyed by older viewers as well as their young siblings.
Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Children entering Patty's pumpkin patch will not only find a continuous story, told in the main text and illustrations, but also an introduction to the alphabet, presented in smaller illustrations along the bottom of each page. In early spring, Patty hoes among the ants and beetles. When she plants and waters the seeds, crows and dragonflies swoop above. When the plants take root, the earthworms and flies busy themselves. Soon the vines spread and the blossoms pop out, providing shelter for grasshoppers and nectar for hummingbirds. In summer, when the pumpkins form, inchworms, juncos, kittens, and ladybugs come out. And in the fall, the pumpkin stand is readied, and the moths and owls, and other creatures arrive. Sloat's lively rhymes will attract even some of the most squirmy kids at story hour, and lots of children will enjoy watching to see what animal turns up next in the pictures. The highlighted letters, upper and lower case, and the representative words (ant, zebra butterfly, xylem) appear in boxes, and there's enough visual detail in the main illustrations to ensure repeated visits by children curious about critters and how things grow.
Shelley Townsend-Hudson
