Customer Reviews

Pumpkin Eye

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a children's librarian, I am always on the lookout for those special books to add to my collection of story time treats. "Pumpkin Eye" caught my eye the moment I opened its covers. Short, catchy text, bright, attention getting illustrations and, best of all considering my intended audience is an impressionable eight years and under, just the gentlest touch of spookiness. I can hardly wait to share it with the children.

Caldecott Honor artist, Denise Fleming, has truly outdone herself with this spooky and mysterious celebration of Halloween. From eerie shadows, swooping bats and clacking bones, to wretched witches, hissing cats and muffled moans, her evocative, simple, rhyming text, full of imagery and magic, sets the mood and is beautifully complemented by her bold, expressive, larger-than-life artwork. Young imaginations will soar as they read this wonderful picture book and pore over all the special details on each page. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, Pumpkin Eye really captures the very essence of Halloween night and is sure to get all young ghosts and goblins ready for seasonal fun. "Trick or treat/Pounding feet/Halloween has found our street!"

I think there is still a little kid that lurks deep inside all of us. The cover of this children's book caught my eye as I roamed through my favourite book store. It was just too impossible to resist; a little peek, who will see? I picked up the book and actually did not put it down until the end. From bats and dragons to a harvest moon and orange pumpkins, children will love the colour and verse of this simplistic yet creative book. When you take a look at the enchantment of this delightful book, you will realize the wonders of childhood that we truly miss. Children will love the way the book is illustrated with rich colours and eye-catching orange pumpkins!

This book is a great Halloween tale for younger students. The illustrations are wonderful and catch the attention of the reader. The twist at the end is really fun for children. I work in an elementary school and have had a lot of fun watching the students react to the colorful characters and silly storyline.

Denise Fleming's Pumpkin Eye is a wonderful book for pre-schoolers and early elementary children. Her pulp paintings are very unique. Her work is often compared to that of Eric Carle's. In this book the author uses simple rhymes to describe the various aspects that create Halloween. On each double page spread there is a rhyming couplet. Fleming's writing encourages the reader in indulge in all the excitement and spookiness of this particular night. These include the sights and sounds of the holiday. Fleming sets a mysterious mood in the beginning of the book by describing the rising moon. Next she describes pumpkin eyes, candlesticks, pounding feet, and jack-o-lanterns lining the street. There are also spirits spilling down the hill and dragons and unicorns walking around. Every couple of pages begin with the words "Trick-O-Treat"! Also there are images of eyes throughout the whole story. For example, on some pages there are cat eyes in the illustrations and on others there are pumpkin "eyes", and the startled expressions in children's eyes. In addition, the author creates an eerie mood by describing the dark shadows, swooping bats, hissing cats, tattered rags, toothless hags, pointed tails, and blood-red nails. The suspense builds as the reader reads about witches and skeletons filling the street. Fleming uses onomatopoeia repeatedly. For example, trick-o-treaters hear wolves howling, clacking bones, muffled moans, and hearts thumping. These sounds and feelings make the reader feel like they are in the street trick-o-treating themselves. Pumpkin Eye encourages the imagination to run wild!
This book would be perfect to get young children in the mood to do Halloween art activities. Students could make their own Halloween masks. Paper plates, crayons and markers, scissors, construction paper, and elastic bands are some materials that could be used in the construction of these masks. The children could also make their own trick-or-treat bags to go along with their masks. Grocery or shopping bags could be used. Students could make handles for their bags using ribbons. These activities could give students a chance to express their creativity.
I liked this book a lot. Fleming does a great job creating a festive mood! I could easily imagine walking through the streets on Halloween and seeing all the mysterious sights. The text in the book seems to jump off the page. For example, the pictures are dark and the text is big and white. The vivid descriptions are excellent and the illustrations represent the Halloween theme well. This book would be great for a holiday theme read aloud.

Denise Fleming is a master. There is nothing better in a Halloween book than this. And if you have kids, try doing some artworks with silhouettes so they can appreciate the art in Fleming's book

We have a number of books for Halloween and my kids start asking for this one around August. For some reason, Halloween enamors them even more than Christmas and they love the pictures and the wonderful rhymes in this book. As a father who loves to read to his children, this book even brings me pleasure as it captures the feel of Halloween. Spooky, yet fun, it is just a plain old good book.