Play With Your Pumpkins [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Joost Elffers (Author), Saxton Freymann (Author), Johannes Van Damm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998

More than an oversized vegetable, ancient cu ltures considered the pumpkin a symbol of the whole world. P lay With Your Pumpkins offers a lively history of this veget able as well as 22 succulent recipes for all occasions. '

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Why must a pumpkin's face be carved on its side when there is a natural nose begging to be the center of an incredibly expressive face?" ask pumpkin artists Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann at the beginning of their delightful mix of photography, folklore, and recipes, Play with Your Pumpkins. And indeed, the pair have turned the jack-o'-lantern on its side (literally) with the happy, sad, scary, and funny faces they carve around green stem noses. Fans of the fantastical vegetable animals in Elffers's Play with Your Food will love what he can do with a pumpkin head. In addition to the fabulous photographs in this pocket-sized treat, the pair have provided a cultural history of the pumpkin and a treatise on their approach to decorating it. Finally, Dutch food writer Johannes van Dam offers 24 recipes for sweet and savory pumpkin dishes from all over the world, including Persian Pumpkin Jam and Pumpkin Pickles from Germany, not to mention the quintessential American Pumpkin Pie, proving you can provide personality to your pumpkin both inside and out.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2 Up-Elffers and Freymann have turned the traditional jack-o'-lantern on its head-literally. In their designs, the stem forms a natural (if quirky) nose, and with the addition of a carved mouth, some with teeth, and eyes shaped by removing part of the orange peel, fantastic critters emerge. Some are hilarious, others menacing, but all are a delightful change from the cookie-cutter faces children have grown accustomed to. No specific directions are given, just suggestions and plenty of examples. However, because they don't require hollowing out the pumpkin to remove the seeds, these creations are easy to make. Not only are the ideas creative, but so is the book design, featuring an appealing small size; blasts of background colors; and page after page of zany photographs of pumpkins, some small and stacked along the page edges, others dominating a double-page spread. The grinning pumpkin on the cover will immediately engage browsers. With adult assistance, children can attempt the impressive selection of "Succulent Pumpkin Recipes From All Over the World." Included are Flamusse (flan) from France, Pumpkin pickles from Germany, Mderbel (lamb stew) from the Middle East, and an assortment of pies from many nations. Other chapters include information on the history, myths, and legends associated with this gourd, and tips for growing it. An excellent choice for all craft collections.
Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang; illustrated edition edition (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556708483
• ISBN-13: 978-1556708480
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,120,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Spend your hard-earned bucks on a different pumpkin book., October 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Play With Your Pumpkins (Hardcover)

Once you've seen the cover of this book, you've seen it all. All of the pumpkins throughout this book are simply variations of the same theme. If you're after recipes, you'll probably like the book okay, but if you're after carving inspiration, look elsewhere.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars great idea but no "how to" insructions., October 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Play With Your Pumpkins (Hardcover)

The book shows a very creative ideas for carving pumpkins for Halloween. However, the book lacks any directions for carving, how to get the seeds out when neccesary, and what materials to use for the eyes. For example, if you use candy for eyes, it melts. If you experiment long enough though, you can creat some wonderful faces.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Faces, October 28, 2002

By 

frank starsinic (davis, ca USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Play With Your Pumpkins (Hardcover)

Who would have thought that you could get so many different faces from a pumpkin. The faces are true art and are quite easily done yourself if you wish to create your own.

I bought this book last year, created my own pumpkins that look just like these quite quickly. This year, everyone's calling us asking how we created those pumpkins and where they can get the book.