Once there was a witch who longed for pumpkin pie. Unfortunately, the pumpkin she had grown from a seed became so big she simply couldn't get it of...
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Jun 02, 2008
Ruth
rated it: 
Another favorite Halloween picture book! I could buy nothing but these sorts of books and be perfectly happy. The artwork is completely adorable. The first time I became aware of this book, oddly enough, was when I went to a themed quilt show in which each mini-quilt was a scene from a child's picture book! The quilt that was inspired by this book was amazing. By the time I got the actual book, I was even more excited. It's a cute story, but the artwork is why I bought the book. Happy Hall
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Sep 29, 2011
Abigail
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Hoping to make her favorite treat (a pumpkin pie, of course!), a witch plants a pumpkin seed in her garden in this charming Halloween tale, carefully tending the plant which springs from it, and watching it as it slowly develops into a massive gourd. But when the pumpkin proves too large to move by herself, the witch is forced, much against her inclination, to accept the offers of help made by a passing ghost, vampire and mummy. Despite these ghoulish assistants, the pumpkin stubbornly stays put
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Sep 18, 2011
David
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Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman, illustrated by S.D. Schindler is a fun Halloween book about a witch who can't get pull her big pumpkin off the vine without some help. I had forgotten reading this, until the Goodreads Picture Book Club selected it and I reread it.
Although witch "pulled and she tugged and she pulled...that pumpkin just sat.' Along came a ghost. 'I am bigger than you and stronger, too,' said he. 'Let me try.' Well, the witch wanted that pumpkin for herself, but sh More...
Although witch "pulled and she tugged and she pulled...that pumpkin just sat.' Along came a ghost. 'I am bigger than you and stronger, too,' said he. 'Let me try.' Well, the witch wanted that pumpkin for herself, but sh More...
Oct 20, 2011
Dolly
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This is a fun cumulative story that is loosely based on Gigantic Turnip by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy. The illustrations are fun, the monsters aren't scary, and the repetition in the narrative will entertain children. The ending seemed a bit abrupt, but overall, it's a humorous story and we enjoyed reading it together.
This book was featured as one of the selections for the October 2011 Witches and Monsters-themed reads for the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group her More...
This book was featured as one of the selections for the October 2011 Witches and Monsters-themed reads for the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group her More...
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Oct 23, 2008
Rebecca
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Can't get enough of this book. Too bad it is so hard to find. If you do find it, you HAVE to have the soundtrack that goes with it. It is a treasure to all those preschool and kindergarten teachers, and parents that happen to own it, and they guard their copies with their life! I know I do! It's so fun to pull it out at this time of year, but my kids want to read it all year long.
Apr 06, 2011
Jessica
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Big Pumpkin is a cute story that is perfect for just around Halloween time. It is fun when read-aloud using the characters voices. In the story a witch is trying to pick the pumpkin she has been growing to make pumpkin pie. The witch can’t pick the pumpkin by herself, neither can the ghost, the vampire, or the mummy. Everyone chuckles when the smallest of them all, the bat, comes up with a plan. The story exemplifies all the great things that can happen when everyone works together.
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Oct 03, 2011
Crystal
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Big Pumpkin is a great pick of the theme "witches and monsters" from the Children's Picture Book Club found here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/6595...
A charming tale of a witch who wanted some pumpkin pie. The pumpkin she had, as the title states, was one big pumpkin! Her dilemma was how to get that huge thing home to make it into pumpkin pie. The story was humorous and it was wonderful to see classic monsters in a friendly story, working together to help the witch. I More...
A charming tale of a witch who wanted some pumpkin pie. The pumpkin she had, as the title states, was one big pumpkin! Her dilemma was how to get that huge thing home to make it into pumpkin pie. The story was humorous and it was wonderful to see classic monsters in a friendly story, working together to help the witch. I More...
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Oct 25, 2010
Jess
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Witch has grown a big pumpkin. "It's big and it's mine, but it's stuck on the wine, and Halloween's just hours away" What will she do?
I love this book! It's my favorite Halloween readaloud. Kids love it and it's super fun to read. Ever notice how some cumulative tales / line repetition makes you want to stab something? Yeah, not this book. The book's full of good lines ("and she kicked that pumpkin" is my favorite but pretty much the whole repetition More...
I love this book! It's my favorite Halloween readaloud. Kids love it and it's super fun to read. Ever notice how some cumulative tales / line repetition makes you want to stab something? Yeah, not this book. The book's full of good lines ("and she kicked that pumpkin" is my favorite but pretty much the whole repetition More...
Oct 16, 2011
Nathan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 03, 2011
Kathryn
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A very fun cumulative tale that just begs to be read aloud, "Big Pumpkin" is a story I would probably have loved as a kid, with its fun cast of Halloweeny characters and the repetition that would help me read right along. Even now, I found it quite entertaining as a ghost, vampire, mummy, and bat all try to help a witch pull her BIG pumpkin off the vine so that she can make pumpkin pie. The ending is absolutely adorable! :-) The pictures are quite fun. There's a great message here
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Sep 27, 2011
Lisa
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This story is adorable. How can I not love a witch and other assorted Halloween time creatures who say “Drat!” And how can I not love pumpkin pie as the goal everyone is striving for. This tale uses repetition wonderfully, and shows the power of teamwork, and of sharing. It’s a great selection for Halloween. Only the most fearful child will be afraid of the witch, ghost, vampire, mummy, and bat.
The illustrations are really wonderful. They’re very colorful and full of dense details. More...
The illustrations are really wonderful. They’re very colorful and full of dense details. More...
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Oct 14, 2011
Randie
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A witch planted a seed, watered, weeded, and cared for her growing pumpkin in hopes of making a large pumpkin pie. On Halloween, she attempts to pull the pumpkin off the vine but she's not strong enough. A ghost, vampire, mummy, and bat offer the witch help in this rhythmic, cumulative tale, but can they pull the big pumpkin off the vine?
Fun story for a read aloud and for making predictions or identifying patterns. Silverman adapted this story from the Russian folktale, "The Tur More...
Fun story for a read aloud and for making predictions or identifying patterns. Silverman adapted this story from the Russian folktale, "The Tur More...
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Dec 13, 2011
The Reading Countess
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It's funny that my youngest son picked this from the library when it wasn't even Halloween. It's equally funny to me that I've read this silly story about Halloween characters attempting to pluck a "big pumpkin" from the ground alone (only to discover that it takes teamwork and with a diminutive creature at the helm) to all of my boys at one time or another. This makes a great read aloud (who doesn't like to ham up the characters?)
Highly recommended
Highly recommended
Oct 19, 2011
Mrs. Lindsay's Class
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"My favorite part was when the pumpkin rolled away!" (Dominick)
"I liked the part when the ghost came!" (Aaron)
"My favorite part was when the vampire came!" (Ja'rion)
"My favorite part was when the mummy came!" (Amiya)
"My favorite part was when the witch made pumpkin pie!" (Ra'Shay)
"My favorite part was when the witch, the ghost, the vampire, the mummy, and the bat all cooperated to move the pumpkin!" (Mrs. Lindsa
"I liked the part when the ghost came!" (Aaron)
"My favorite part was when the vampire came!" (Ja'rion)
"My favorite part was when the mummy came!" (Amiya)
"My favorite part was when the witch made pumpkin pie!" (Ra'Shay)
"My favorite part was when the witch, the ghost, the vampire, the mummy, and the bat all cooperated to move the pumpkin!" (Mrs. Lindsa
Aug 07, 2010
Jackie
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It sure helps to have monster friends when trying to move a huge pumpkin from the vine. Witch planted her pumpkin seed and now she wants some pumpkin pie. Ghost, vampire, bat and mummy all pull together to move that pumpkin to the witch's house.
Used for "Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere" Storytime-October, 2010.
Used for "Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere" Storytime-October, 2010.
Oct 31, 2009
Jennifer
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I work in a preschool, and this book is a hit with the kids there. We have an audio cassette that goes along with the book, and the kids practically have it memorized.
This is a great (non-scary) Halloween story that shows the benefits of cooperation and helping out your friends.
A charming and funny story.
This is a great (non-scary) Halloween story that shows the benefits of cooperation and helping out your friends.
A charming and funny story.
Jan 20, 2012
Hatka
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The book Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman serves as a good resource for lessons on plant growth. The growth of pumpkins are the focus of the book. The book also focuses on concepts which are associated with Halloween. The book can also be used for lessons on ordinal numbers up to the 6th place value.
Sep 02, 2011
Jennybug
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Wow! I couldn't believe how many Halloween books the library had. I really loved this one. In Sawyer's words, "It was sooo good." This is one I would like to buy. The pictures are fun and it is a great story about team work. I am going to have to put this on my list to buy.
Oct 21, 2009
Peggy
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This is a book we read (my four-year-old and I) about every other night as it gets closer to Halloween. It's VERY repitive and the pictures are scary enough without being too frightening. It features a witch, a ghost, a vampire, a mummy and a bat - all who want pumpkin pie for Halloween.
Jan 30, 2011
A cute Halloween story of a witch who wanted to bake a pumpkin pie. The thing is, she couldn't pick her big pumpkin. Many Halloween friends came by to lend a hand. Of course, it wasn't until they worked together that success was had.
The illustrations are very good.
The illustrations are very good.
Sep 27, 2011
Christiana
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Friendship: Helping others! :)
Sequence: The bear has to create his own home, so he stumbles across a pumpkin and it blocks it so his friends from the forest help him create a new house. Sequence the events of the story.
Fall: pumpkins
Sequence: The bear has to create his own home, so he stumbles across a pumpkin and it blocks it so his friends from the forest help him create a new house. Sequence the events of the story.
Fall: pumpkins
Sep 30, 2011
Jenny
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A witch can't pull the big pumpkin out of the ground but with help from some other creatures, she gets the pumpkin and makes pumpkin pie for all. Cute repeating refrains throughout the book make this great for preschool age kids.
Jan 27, 2010
Chelsea
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I read this book to my kdg class and they loved it especially because the story kept building up the story adding characters but I had to be careful because we had a student that did not celebrate Halloween in the class.
Feb 18, 2011
Janet
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FUN! Best word to describe this book, and it can be a great large prop book to play out. This story can really be acted out within your classroom and even better if you do different voices for the characters. Love it!
Nov 08, 2010
Claudia
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This is a fun holiday book and sequencing is a great teaching strategy for this book. I have read this book as a child and I think its cute nature shows us how its good to help others (in this case picking a pumpkin).
Sep 10, 2010
Jennifer
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This was a favorite of ours when my boys were small. We would read it daily in the fall and act out the voices. I have such fond memories thanks to this book, it will remain on my shelf and in my heart forever.
Apr 22, 2010
Sarah
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I really like the rhythm of this book, and the way certain phrases are repeated. While I wish the text was formatted better to make this clearer, the story is simple and would make a great read-aloud or flannel story.
Sep 30, 2011
Danny
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Mom finally tracked this one down in the garage, just in time for the Halloween season. Danny knew right away the solution that the bat proposed. Mom loves the illustrations and the repeated "Drat!"
