Laura Numeroff should write a story called, If You Give a Homeschool Mom a Pumpkin. Because, once you cut into a pumpkin, there are so many things to do with all the bits, and pieces. As we discovered, after being inspired by Margaret McNamara's How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?, to cut open, not just one...
...but two pumpkins. I'll be sharing more about what we found there, and in McNamara's book, for Sunday Science, tomorrow, Lord willing.
But, while the children were busy pulling the pulp, and seeds (or guts), out of the pumpkins, they were chanting all the goodies the pumpkins would become...pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin waffles...I added...pumpkin soup...and received a chorus of "YUCK!"
Of course, that was before reading Helen Cooper's excellent Pumpkin Soup, the story of a cat, a squirrel, and a duck, who live together in harmony. Every night, they make pumpkin soup together. Everyone has a job, and everyone is happy, until one day, Duck decides to stir things up.
The beautiful, warm illustrations, left me hungry for a bowl of the soup, but not the children. They were more taken with Dianne Ochiltree's idea of turning smashed pumpkins into pumpkin pies, in Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins.
A warning to parents: If you plan to read Ochiltree's book out loud, you might want to practice it alone a few times first. It's a fast paced, rhyme filled, read, that can be tricky for the tongue, the first time through.
Finally, we (especially the youngest of us), also enjoyed the silly, pumpkin themed, word play of Pick a Pumpkin, Mrs. Millie! by Judy Cox. I wasn't actually sure if it was supposed to be a Miss Frizzle/ Amelia Bedilea sort of visit to a pumpkin patch, or a close look at the early onset of Alzheimer's, but it had the little ones rolling with laughter, so I'll say it was a hit.
Be sure to check out all the other children's story reviews, and recommendations, at this week's What My Child is Reading blog hop, hosted by Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.
It's great to be a homeschooler.
I love all of these books. Funny, I just found a recipe for pumpkin soup that I am looking forward to making soon!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining WMCIR! I am looking forward to some pumpkin fun in October, but clearly you are starting early. All those books sound lovely. I am always amazed just how many good pumpkin books are out there, I always find more to read.
ReplyDeleteThose all sound good. I'll have to put them on my list.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of a similar type of book she should write about reading books and getting ideas.
ReplyDeleteDid you know her books are the freebie right now with Chik-Fil-A kids meals? Love that.
There's a cute book I remember reading back as an intern in high school about a huge pumpkin that's a Halloween book.