Around the first week of October, pumpkins start to show up all over the place. There are pumpkins all over the place in early fall. You can find them in grocery stores, at the hardware store, and, of course, at the pumpkin patch.

Pumpkins may be most popular because they can be carved into jack-o'-lanterns, but they are also interesting fruits to look at in their own right. My review of 19 books about pumpkins for kids is below. If you or your kids will be learning about pumpkins this fall, check out my review! These kids' books about pumpkins have both non-fiction and fiction options.

Non-fiction books about pumpkins

Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson

This book shows the life cycle of a pumpkin, from seed to plant to flower to a big orange fruit. The pictures are very interesting. In this book, we see the beauty of the pumpkin vine, from its twisty tendrils to the bright bowls of its flowers. The book's beautiful pictures of bugs that come to the pumpkin flower to get its nectar and hop around on the big leaves will be a big hit. For kids in preschool and early elementary school, this book is both fun and educational. The rhyming text that goes with the beautiful photos makes this a great book to read. The back of the book has advice on how to grow pumpkins.

From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer

A great book for kids in preschool through first grade, this one shows how pumpkins grow from seeds to ripe, full-sized pumpkins. It's written in a way that's easy for kids to understand.

The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons

You should read this book because it comes from the Let's Read and Find Out Science series, which I love so much! When a pumpkin seed is planted, a vine grows, and pumpkins grow big. The pumpkins are harvested and used as jack-o'-lanterns or in pumpkin pie. Lots of scientific information about this process is found in the book. It is written for kids in preschool through grade 3. For example, the book talks about how plants use sunlight, water, and air to make food, but it doesn't use words like photosynthesis or chlorophyl. This book is a great way to teach kids about the life cycle of a pumpkin because of the beautiful illustrations that go with the text. The back of the book has more information about pumpkins, how to roast pumpkin seeds, and an experiment to show how plants get water.

 

This book is full of interesting and fun facts about pumpkins. From the fact that pumpkins are part of the squash family to how to grow pumpkins and how they came to be associated with Thanksgiving and Halloween, this book has a lot of information! The text is accompanied by colorful illustrations. This book is great for kids who are in preschool through 3rd grade.

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum

For a quick look at the pumpkin's life cycle, this National Geographic Kids book shows how it grows from a seed to a full-sized pumpkin fruit. It talks about how pumpkins come in many different colors and sizes. Kids might like the picture of people rowing boats made out of huge, hollowed-out pumpkins. Pumpkin bread, pies, and jack-o'-lanterns are all good. In this book, the pictures are very beautiful, and the language is very short and easy to understand. This book is best for kids ages 3 to 7. They will enjoy it the most.

Fiction books about pumpkins

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?by Margaret McNamara

This is a truly lovely book that talks about important social issues while also teaching kids about math and science. It's a good mix. Charlie is the smallest person in his class, which doesn't make him very happy, but it's not his fault. During class one day, his teacher brings in three pumpkins, one big and two small ones. This is what the class has to do. They have to figure out which pumpkin has more seeds than the rest. It's thought that the biggest pumpkin will have the most seeds, and the smallest pumpkin will have the fewest seeds, by the kids. It turns out that the students learned this after they opened their pumpkins and counted the seeds by twos, fives, or tens. The smallest pumpkin had the most! In the story and on the last spread of the book, there are a lot of great scientific facts about pumpkins that are very interesting.

How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? by Wendell Minor

The author of this beautiful book was inspired by the huge pumpkins that win awards at pumpkin festivals each year. He let his imagination run wild and came up with this beautiful book. Think of all the fun things you could do with a really big pumpkin. For example, could you make a boat out of a huge pumpkin and race it in a race? Jack-o'-lanterns can be made from it. The Grand Canyon could be filled with your pumpkin.

Pumpkins by Mary Lyn Ray

He lives next to a big field. Once, on the field, he sees an ad for sale. The old man is afraid that the field will be sold to a developer, so he decides to buy the field to keep it. He sells everything he owns, but he doesn't have enough money to buy the field. The man thinks about all of his options and decides to buy a packet of seeds. He plants the seeds in the field, and he grows a lot of pumpkins, many, many, many. When the pumpkins are ready to be harvested, he hires trucks, boats, planes, and flying carpets to get them to their destinations. He also hires a lot of people to help him get them there. Jack-o-lantern instructions are attached to each pumpkin by the man, and they are written on the tag. And he sends his pumpkins to all over the world, too. People from all over the world buy his pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin pies, and pumpkin muffins. It's finally over: The man has enough money to buy the field near his house.

The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll

In this cute story, two mice find and fall in love with the same pumpkin growing in their vegetable garden. It's agreed that both will care for the little pumpkin and grow it into the biggest pumpkin ever. Both have big plans for the pumpkin they want to grow. During the day, one little mouse takes care of the pumpkin. At night, another little mouse takes care of the pumpkin. One night, both mice come out to put blankets on the pumpkin to keep it warm. Neither mouse knows about the other until that night. I love how the two mice work together so that each can make their dream come true.

Ready for Pumpkins by Kate Duke

Hercules is the class guinea pig in the first grade classroom of Miss MacGuffey. When he goes on vacation to the country for the summer, he decides to grow his own pumpkin garden. His friend Daisy helps him plant some pumpkin seeds. It turns out, though, that the seeds take a long time to grow. They grow faster if you don't yell, jump all over the place, or dig them up! The only thing that works is...

The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis

This story takes place on Halloween, but Halloween isn't the main point of the story. A group of three siblings climb a hill and find a huge pumpkin there, so the story goes on. siblings start to roll the pumpkin down the hill. They take the pumpkin from its stem and do it quickly. But soon after they start, one hears a "thumping" sound as the pumpkin runs away. Momma Baxter's pig sty is broken through by the pumpkin on the runway. He is knocked to the ground. Once they're all downhill, Poppa Baxter sees the pumpkin and quickly makes a soft spot for the pumpkin to land. There, Granny stirs and stews and bakes the pumpkin into a tasty meal for everyone.

Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins by Dianne Ochiltree

She sets out to get a lot of pumpkins for her Gramps at the pumpkin patch. In the beginning, she picks a few pumpkins and then picks more until 16 are in her wagon. They are being taken back home when – oops! The wagon shakes, and the 16 pumpkins fall out and roll down the hill. They roll right through Gramps' front door and smash on his clean floor. That doesn't bother Gramps. He knows what to do! In no time, the whole family has made several pumpkin pie.

The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz

To tell the story of a pumpkin that doesn't look like other pumpkins for Halloween, this book has rhyming text that tells the story. To make things worse, he never gets picked like the other pumpkins. Because of this, he thinks he looks bad There are some Thanksgiving squash that look just like the ugly pumpkin in November. It turns out there's a place for him at Thanksgiving. This book would be good for either Halloween or Thanksgiving, but you could also read it. A Halloween book that my kids loved. They were so excited to learn why the pumpkin was so ugly.

Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman

It is a witch's goal to grow a pumpkin for pie. A pumpkin has grown so big by Halloween that she can't get it off the vine to make pumpkin pie for Halloween. So she hires ghosts, vampires, mummies, and bats to help her out. Along the way, young readers will learn that everyone, no matter how small they are, has something to offer. The text has rhythmic words and a simple storyline that will draw in young readers.

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper

Pumpkin soup is a favorite dish for the cat, squirrel, and duck. In the past, Cat has cut the pumpkin, Squirrel has stirred the water, and Duck has added salt. A fight breaks out between these three friends when Duck says that he wants to stir their soup. Afterward, Cat and Squirrel decide to make the soup without Duck. However, it doesn't taste right, and they realize that not giving Duck a chance to stir was a mistake. Finally, the three animals are back together, and they make the best pumpkin soup they've ever made together. This book talks about how to share and take turns with your friends. The illustrations are so cute that they show the emotions of the animals in the story.

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