Fall is one of our favorite times to read together, and nothing says fall quite like pumpkins! 🎃 My daughter and I explored some sweet and silly pumpkin books this week, then made a simple pumpkin craft that’s perfect for storytime, classrooms, or family fun at home.
Pumpkin Books for Kids
Duck and Goose books are some of my favorites, and Find a Pumpkin is right at the top of the list. The two friends search high and low for a pumpkin—everywhere except the pumpkin patch! It’s a wonderful read-aloud and a perfect choice for fall. I even included it in my ALSC post about my favorite fall picture books.
The Seasons of Fun series is full of wonderful read-aloud nonfiction titles. I love including nonfiction books in storytime and when reading with my daughter, though they can sometimes get a bit lengthy. This one focuses on pumpkin patches, and since it’s divided into clear sections, it’s easy to pause or read just part of it if needed.
A duck tries to make a Jack-O-Lantern for his friends Mouse and Pig, but ends up falling inside. The humorous storyline, illustrations, and loud funny text make this a wonderful read for the season. I also included this title in my post of Favorite Halloween Books for Children.
All Daniel Tiger books are must reads in our household. He is kind, thoughtful, and teaches wonderful lessons for children. Throw in a season and that is just a bonus!
From seed to pumpkin was a lovely informative read about how pumpkins grow from seeds to full sized pumpkins. This book would be appropriate for older children, but I skipped some of the text to make it enjoyable for my preschooler.
A classic title in the pumpkin and Halloween books, some children plant a pumpkin seed and grow pumpkins. Those pumpkins then get carved into Jack-O-Lanterns for Halloween!
Pumpkin Craft
For this craft, you will need:
- Paper
- A marker
- Glue sticks or liquid glue
- Tissue paper or construction paper
Start by drawing an outline of a pumpkin or printing one. I like to start with the oval in the middle then adding the rest onto the pumpkin. It helps that every pumpkin is different in a pumpkin patch!
Let your child(ren) tear or cut the tissue paper into little pieces then glue onto the pumpkin. Tearing paper is fantastic for those fine motor skills which is a bonus.
My daughter’s pumpkin shown here got lots of embellishment with marker after and she loved crumpling the tissue paper up and then glueing it. Allow the children to create however they want – there isn’t one way it should look!
Do you have any favorite pumpkin books or crafts to share?