What do you think?
Rate this book
Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin
One morning, a few days before Halloween, Mrs. McMurphy wakes up to find a large pumpkin by her front door. "My mouth is here. I speak to you. When my teeth are here, I'll eat you!" it says with a mischievous grin. Unafraid, Mrs. McMurphy politely places the threatening squash outside. But day after day the pumpkin returns to make good on its promise!
24 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2004
About the author
Rick Walton
110 books52 followersBorn and raised in Utah, Walton is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church. He served as a missionary to Brazil from 1976 to 1978, soon after he graduated from high school. Later, at Brigham Young University, he became president of the Brazil Club. In 1980, he graduated from Brigham Young with a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a minor in Portuguese, the language spoken in Brazil.
Walton's education continued after he obtained his degree. In 1980, he went back to Brigham Young for one semester of graduate work in business, but chose not to follow that career path. Deciding to become a teacher, he earned certification in elementary education from Brigham Young in 1987, as well as certification to teach gifted and talented students. Up to that point, he had held a number of jobs, including a year with the parks and recreation department of Provo, Utah. In 1987, he began teaching sixth grade at a local public school, then switched to a private school.
Also interested in computers, Walton would later publish several items of software. He left teaching to accept a position as software designer for IBM in 1989. In 1994, he turned to freelance software design and writing. He also returned to Brigham Young University once again, this time to earn his master's degree in English, with an emphasis on creative writing.
Walton's wife, Ann, with whom he has written many of his books, is a computer programmer. They were married in 1983, and have five children. With Dumb Clucks! and Something's Fishy! in 1987, the Waltons began writing books.
Walton's education continued after he obtained his degree. In 1980, he went back to Brigham Young for one semester of graduate work in business, but chose not to follow that career path. Deciding to become a teacher, he earned certification in elementary education from Brigham Young in 1987, as well as certification to teach gifted and talented students. Up to that point, he had held a number of jobs, including a year with the parks and recreation department of Provo, Utah. In 1987, he began teaching sixth grade at a local public school, then switched to a private school.
Also interested in computers, Walton would later publish several items of software. He left teaching to accept a position as software designer for IBM in 1989. In 1994, he turned to freelance software design and writing. He also returned to Brigham Young University once again, this time to earn his master's degree in English, with an emphasis on creative writing.
Walton's wife, Ann, with whom he has written many of his books, is a computer programmer. They were married in 1983, and have five children. With Dumb Clucks! and Something's Fishy! in 1987, the Waltons began writing books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
October 31, 2018
I loved this story. It was so different from what I was expecting in an amazing way. It starts out all smiles and sunshine. Everything seems normal and perfect. Mrs. McMurphy is calm, collected and cool as a cucumber. She never loses that.
4 days before Halloween, she comes down to do her chores - she lives alone which feels a little vulnerable and there is a random pumpkin sitting in her hallway with only a mouth and it says something disturbing. I don’t want to give it away. It is in total contrast to the sunny nature of the book so far. Total and it is unsettling. I got a chill up my spine when I saw it.
It totally creeped the children out. The niece covered her eyes and my nephew let out a yelp of glee. He said, “It’s going to eat her.” The book goes on and the woman never is bothered by this evil seeming pumpkin. It really built some suspense of us and had us on our seats. The kids loved this. It does all this while remaining sunny and upbeat. I mean it really is kinda creepy. The kids gave this 5 stars.
Well, you have to read to see what happens on Halloween when the pumpkin gets its teeth. The kids loved this book. The talked about it for a time after the story was over.
I loved the bright and happy artwork that gave off all these good safe feelings and then this element of the unknown was in the middle of it causing feelings of unease. It’s a great little gem of a book. I love a surprise like this.
4 days before Halloween, she comes down to do her chores - she lives alone which feels a little vulnerable and there is a random pumpkin sitting in her hallway with only a mouth and it says something disturbing. I don’t want to give it away. It is in total contrast to the sunny nature of the book so far. Total and it is unsettling. I got a chill up my spine when I saw it.
It totally creeped the children out. The niece covered her eyes and my nephew let out a yelp of glee. He said, “It’s going to eat her.” The book goes on and the woman never is bothered by this evil seeming pumpkin. It really built some suspense of us and had us on our seats. The kids loved this. It does all this while remaining sunny and upbeat. I mean it really is kinda creepy. The kids gave this 5 stars.
Well, you have to read to see what happens on Halloween when the pumpkin gets its teeth. The kids loved this book. The talked about it for a time after the story was over.
I loved the bright and happy artwork that gave off all these good safe feelings and then this element of the unknown was in the middle of it causing feelings of unease. It’s a great little gem of a book. I love a surprise like this.
October 5, 2009
This is a really odd little story and I'm not really sure how much I "liked" it but it IS memorable! The lovely, gentle and old-fashioned illustrations reflect the gentle Mrs. McMurphy and her charming farm, where she lives all alone and likes to sing and chat with her animals as she feeds them each morning. Yet, soon the tone of the story shifts, although the illustrations remain gentle and country-cozy--somehow, a large pumpkin appears in Mrs. McMurphy's house. First, it has a great slash in it that looks like a mouth and it says to Mrs. McMurphy, "When I get teeth, I will eat you!" She smiles pleasantly and puts the pumpkin outside. The days pass and it is almost Halloween, each day something else appears on the pumpkin (eyes, nose, ears) and he threatens Mrs. M and she finds some way to get rid of him, etc. Her final solution involves some BAKING and treats to give trick-or-treaters on Halloween night (hint, hint). It's all just a bit creepy, but it IS a Halloween book. And I think it reveals a fairy/folktale element in the cumulative story, the threats, and evil thwarted by sweetness masking cunning!
October 23, 2020
Living alone on her farm near the edge of the woods, Mrs. McMurphy tended to her animals with care, and went about her daily chores with a light heart. When a large pumpkin with a wicked grin appeared in her hall four days before Halloween, announcing that when it had teeth it would eat her, Mrs. McMurphy wasn't particularly worried, and put it outside. Each day the pumpkin reappeared in her house, with an additional feature - a nose, ears, eyes - and a continued threat. When Halloween itself came, and the pumpkin appeared with teeth, Mrs. McMurphy was ready, and made very good use of the threatening gourd...
I wasn't sure what I would make of Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin, which was my second book from author Rick Walton, following upon his Girl & Gorilla: Out and About , and my first from illustrator Delana Bettoli. The cover artwork here looked sweet, but the story idea sounded spooky. In the end I found that the whole thing just worked, with the charming, seemingly innocent artwork and text serving to make the spooky elements funny rather than frightening. The pumpkin kept threatening Mrs. McMurphy, and she kept chiding it as if it were a truculent toddler, which made me giggle a bit. I can see how the juxtaposition of sweet and scary here might not work for some, but for whatever reason, it tickled my often hard-to-reach funny bone. Leaving aside the story, the illustrations themselves were beautiful, and I'd love to see more of Bettoli's work. Her style would make an excellent accompaniment to a fairy-tale retelling, I would think. As for this one, I'd recommend it to picture-book readers seeking Halloween stories that blend humor and thrills.
I wasn't sure what I would make of Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin, which was my second book from author Rick Walton, following upon his Girl & Gorilla: Out and About , and my first from illustrator Delana Bettoli. The cover artwork here looked sweet, but the story idea sounded spooky. In the end I found that the whole thing just worked, with the charming, seemingly innocent artwork and text serving to make the spooky elements funny rather than frightening. The pumpkin kept threatening Mrs. McMurphy, and she kept chiding it as if it were a truculent toddler, which made me giggle a bit. I can see how the juxtaposition of sweet and scary here might not work for some, but for whatever reason, it tickled my often hard-to-reach funny bone. Leaving aside the story, the illustrations themselves were beautiful, and I'd love to see more of Bettoli's work. Her style would make an excellent accompaniment to a fairy-tale retelling, I would think. As for this one, I'd recommend it to picture-book readers seeking Halloween stories that blend humor and thrills.
September 8, 2012
Weird.
November 4, 2014
Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin is a picture book that looks like a Thanksgiving book, turns out to be a Halloween book, and cannot seem to figure out what it's really about. Essentially, a pumpkin keeps turning up in Mrs. McMurphy's house claiming that it will eventually eat her. Every time she sends it out of the house, the next day it is back with a new feature.
First of all, there's a weird message in this book. The pumpkin makes threats, gets sent away, and eventually has a very pumpkin-y thing happen to it. The illustrations are quite nice for the most part until the pumpkin reaches its potential. So, second, why does the pumpkin look like a scary elf? It's not exactly inappropriate for kids, but it doesn't exactly make you want to read it over and over and over because of the inherent weirdness of it, almost like the pumpkin is growing its own costume.
Third, I have a hard time recommending this book. Nothing untoward really happens and it does a good job of repeating and building the text, but the overall story just does not seem even in tone nor does it make a lot of sense by the end. I'm okay with weird things, but I don't think I'd ever want to use this for storytime despite the fact the text is the type that works for a read aloud. It's the content itself that might frighten some kids and makes this adult scratch my head.
First of all, there's a weird message in this book. The pumpkin makes threats, gets sent away, and eventually has a very pumpkin-y thing happen to it. The illustrations are quite nice for the most part until the pumpkin reaches its potential. So, second, why does the pumpkin look like a scary elf? It's not exactly inappropriate for kids, but it doesn't exactly make you want to read it over and over and over because of the inherent weirdness of it, almost like the pumpkin is growing its own costume.
Third, I have a hard time recommending this book. Nothing untoward really happens and it does a good job of repeating and building the text, but the overall story just does not seem even in tone nor does it make a lot of sense by the end. I'm okay with weird things, but I don't think I'd ever want to use this for storytime despite the fact the text is the type that works for a read aloud. It's the content itself that might frighten some kids and makes this adult scratch my head.
October 30, 2010
Certainly not the pictures I would have expected for a Halloween book. Especially one about a scary pumpkin that keeps showing up saying it will eat the pretty Mrs. McMurphy. But I guess that gave a light tone to the book and made it a bit humorous and never scary. Good for a young audience, perhaps preK. But the older ones in Book Time might get bored. Maybe even confused by the illustrations as I was. Still, I could get a good book talk out of this one just by saying "The pumpkin wants to eat the lady farmer." That would spark some interest!
10/30/10 Funny what 2 years away from a book can do. I saw this while looking for Halloween storytime books and thought "perfect"--forgetting any previous misgivings. I felt it worked best with the big program for all ages. And this time, the lovely pictures only added to how awesome the building scariness was. It was also fun getting the kids to have the wicked grins, crooked noses, etc.
10/30/10 Funny what 2 years away from a book can do. I saw this while looking for Halloween storytime books and thought "perfect"--forgetting any previous misgivings. I felt it worked best with the big program for all ages. And this time, the lovely pictures only added to how awesome the building scariness was. It was also fun getting the kids to have the wicked grins, crooked noses, etc.
May 19, 2021
The best critics of a kids books are actual kids. I read this to my son... With narrative voices of course, at the library. He loved it and made me bring it home. I also read it to a class of five year olds. They were all laughing their heads off. Its now Halloween I read it one more time to my five year old son. He's still laughing. I think it's all in how you read it. But I'm adding it to my collection for sure! Perfect Halloween tale. Pictures are sweet as well. But mostly I love that it makes kids giggle up a storm.
October 14, 2018
my grandsons and I loved this story
October 23, 2017
The beautiful, folksy illustrations did not prepare me for the very creepy storyline. A pumpkin appears in a farmer's house every morning (no matter how hard she tries to get rid of it), with a new facial feature each day, and threatens to eat her. This could easily be adapted into a horror movie that would haunt my dreams. However, my 2-year-old finds it hilarious, and it's a very pretty book. Mrs. McMurphy is a pretty cool heroine who appears completely unfazed by this horrifying, magic pumpkin (after repeated attempts to redirect the pumpkin, eventually she calmly bakes it into a pumpkin pie). Also, it reinforces the positive message that it's not okay to eat people. So, 4 stars.
October 11, 2016
A large pumpkin threatens to eat Mrs. McMurphy when his teeth come in. As the days count down to Halloween his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes appear. When his teeth appear and he is ready to bite her, Mrs. McMurphy bakes the Jack-o-lantern into a pumpkin pie for the trick-or-treaters!
•
Though Mrs. McMurphy lives alone on her farm she has no fear of the threatening pumpkin. She knows just what to do with him! The pictures are lovely gouache and acrylic paintings. This book may help kids overcome their fear of scary Halloween things.
•
Though Mrs. McMurphy lives alone on her farm she has no fear of the threatening pumpkin. She knows just what to do with him! The pictures are lovely gouache and acrylic paintings. This book may help kids overcome their fear of scary Halloween things.
October 17, 2011
Excellent October read aloud for 1st-3rd. A little too scary maybe for younger? Pair with The Little Old Woman Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.
Trying desperately to find a copy of this for my library - but it is out of print and the cheapest I've found it used is $35! This could become a "staple" in my library every October!
Trying desperately to find a copy of this for my library - but it is out of print and the cheapest I've found it used is $35! This could become a "staple" in my library every October!
June 30, 2012
I actually liked this eerie book about an evil pumpkin that keeps reappearing in this woman's home growing different facial features. All the while it's threatening to eat her and looks like something from the horror flick Pumpkinhead! It's recommended for ages 3 and up, but I say it's more appropriate for 8 and up.
September 17, 2008
Mrs. McMurphy appears to be a sweet woman but when a wicked pumpkin continuously shows up inside her home and threatens to eat her, the reader discovers Mrs. McMurphy's bite is bigger than the pumpkin's by far.
June 8, 2009
This is a wonderful Halloween/October book. I admit I was really curious about how it was going to end. Could Mrs. McMurphy outsmart the pumpkin, especially when it was such a determined pumpkin? Truly didn't have a guess about the end, but it was fun.
September 29, 2010
Wow. That was incredibly creepy. Aside from the implication that Mrs. McMurphy is a witch, or perhaps farmer-witch, she and the pumpkin are refreshingly bizarre and a bit scary. Not a book for storytime, but a nice Halloween books for little children who like to be scared.
October 3, 2010
This story reads like a fairytale with a pumpkin who keeps showing up in Mrs McMurphy's house even though she gets rid of it everyday after he tells her he's going to eat her. Clever ending but the story may be too scary for little ones.
July 29, 2014
I think the main reason my 4-year-old liked this book was because of the way we read it. I read most of it but I always let him say, in his scariest voice, "I'll eat you!" It's a very predictable story.
October 25, 2014
My kids really enjoyed this creepy story of a pumpkin that keeps adding new "body" parts and threatening that when it has teeth, it will eat Mrs. McMurphy. But Mrs. McMurphy just calmly takes the pumpkin outside. My kids predicted ...and loved...the ending.
October 16, 2018
This book is so strange! I have to admit that last year (2017) I was not sure how I felt about it but as soon as fall rolled around I couldn't stop thinking about it.
I love Mrs. McMurphy and her gentle but firm demeanor. This is one I'd like to add to our personal library.
I love Mrs. McMurphy and her gentle but firm demeanor. This is one I'd like to add to our personal library.
August 22, 2018
One of my favorite halloween stories. It's fun to have the kids repeat the "When my teeth are here, I'll eat you!" part. This story is the perfect mix of scary and atmospheric. And it makes me crave pumpkin pie.
October 23, 2008
Yikes! Henry likes this one (because he doesn't get the scary meaning--the jack o'lantern says "I want to eat you!" to the woman on every page)! What the feh-heh?
October 26, 2009
Quite adorable illustrations, perfect for the Halloween season, with a surprise ending!
October 18, 2010
I loved the illustrations on this one and my son read it to himself and asked me to read it because "the end was funny". Also covers what products come from a farm and how and facial features.
October 28, 2011
Another reviewer called this an odd little story. I agree. I'm not quite sure what to think of it. Cute. Odd. Beautiful. Sweet. Curious.
July 8, 2013
I thought this was a cute story and the ending was a bit of a surprise.
October 12, 2017
Used in Storytime 10/12/17
November 19, 2017
One of our absolute favorite Halloween reads.
May 24, 2022
My mom loves this book and looked long and hard to find it because its been out of print for a long time. This was her favorite book to read to little kids at the library. She was reading it to my lil bro and I, and man I bet the kids must've loved it. Morbid lil story about a pumpkin slowly gaining consciousness and threatening to eat this sassy lady who's just not having. Great Fall season children's book, and if ya read this to a kid they'll definitely get a kick out of this book, it's hilarious and very charming. Try and find a copy somewhere, it is worth the hunt.
November 22, 2022
What scares Mrs. McMurphy is a pumpkin with diabolical intent. He threatens to eat her. The industrious homemaker repeatedly escorts the pumpkin back to its place. On Halloween the pumpkin's place is in a pie.
The story has some spook factor that may not be acceptable to everyone. For example, a child who scares easily might find the evolving pumpkin nightmare-inducing. Heed Mrs. McMurphy's experience and be wary of pumpkins this Halloween.
The story has some spook factor that may not be acceptable to everyone. For example, a child who scares easily might find the evolving pumpkin nightmare-inducing. Heed Mrs. McMurphy's experience and be wary of pumpkins this Halloween.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews