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Scarecrow Pete
Scarecrow Pete is no ordinary scarecrow! He's a straw-filled dreamer who uses books to transport himself to new places. When a young visitor stumbles upon Pete one sunny summer afternoon, he learns how magical reading can be. Together they devour book after book, meeting classic characters, delighting in new experiences and exploring new lands.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
29 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2002
2 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 8, 2019
One day a boy hears a voice while working outside in his garden. He searches high and low and discovers that the voice belongs to his family's scarecrow. The scarecrow's name is Pete and he teaches the boy about the joys of reading. The boy and Pete spend all summer reading the old books in the Scarecrow's beat up suitcase. They read many classics together, Moby Dick, Neverland, Little House on the Prairie, The Secret Garden, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, Huckleberry Finn, and many others.
The book was a cute book but I felt it was a little too wordy. The illustrations are fun. The story is great and the message of the importance of reading and traveling through books. I tried reading this to my 4 year old and my 2 year old and they lost interest quickly.
The book was a cute book but I felt it was a little too wordy. The illustrations are fun. The story is great and the message of the importance of reading and traveling through books. I tried reading this to my 4 year old and my 2 year old and they lost interest quickly.
November 15, 2022
haha Creepy, a talking Scarecrow, but I guess no more creepy than a talking snow man called Bob. lol This scarecrow opens the world of books to a little boy that wasn't very interested in books. The illustrations are a bit like greeting cards.
August 13, 2020
Rhyming text about the love of books, even in summer when school is out!
September 6, 2023
Fun story; beautiful illustrations! And it rhymes!!
October 11, 2023
Fall Challenge 2023
October 26, 2012
A delightful book for fall reading, "Scarecrow Pete" is appropriate for reading aloud, silent reading and will spark discussions about the books mentioned in the story.
The love of reading and books can be discovered at any age, but it usually happens in childhood. Some kids grow up in a house full of books with parents that read to them at bedtime, while others struggle to understand the words on the page and the freedom that comes from being able to read. For one boy, a summer spent in the family garden was enough to get him interested in books and he developed a life-long love of books with the help of "Scarecrow Pete."
"Scarecrow Pete," is a wonderful story about the joy and adventure that can be discovered by opening a book and losing oneself in the pages. Although the rhyming text doesn't always flow smoothly, it can be overlooked because of the message it gives to readers and those just discovering books. The watercolor illustrations remind one of the browns, greens, russets and golds that are often found in a garden and the over-sized pages provide plenty to look at if the book is being read aloud to a child not yet reading on their own.
You can read more of this review at http://www.examiner.com/review/boy-de...
The love of reading and books can be discovered at any age, but it usually happens in childhood. Some kids grow up in a house full of books with parents that read to them at bedtime, while others struggle to understand the words on the page and the freedom that comes from being able to read. For one boy, a summer spent in the family garden was enough to get him interested in books and he developed a life-long love of books with the help of "Scarecrow Pete."
"Scarecrow Pete," is a wonderful story about the joy and adventure that can be discovered by opening a book and losing oneself in the pages. Although the rhyming text doesn't always flow smoothly, it can be overlooked because of the message it gives to readers and those just discovering books. The watercolor illustrations remind one of the browns, greens, russets and golds that are often found in a garden and the over-sized pages provide plenty to look at if the book is being read aloud to a child not yet reading on their own.
You can read more of this review at http://www.examiner.com/review/boy-de...
February 2, 2016
Wow. Another book written by Mark Kimball Moulton that I absolutely adore. If you read to your kids at night, you will love this as well. This story is about a boy who befriends his talking scarecrow and sits and reads books with him all throughout the fall. It focuses on how stories whisk you on different adventures. It is a really lovely book with rhyming that flows easily - it never feels like he's trying. The illustrations are beautiful and soft as with all his other books.
He also makes reference to Snowman Bob! I thought that was utterly genius! Make sure you read that story before you read this one.
My favorite is Reindeer Christmas, but Scarecrow Pete is my close second. The Snowman Bob and Snowgirl Sue are also really good - but Scarecrow Pete and Reindeer Christmas as just wonderful.
I'm disappointed that we've read all the books from Moulton that the library has in stock - he's written a lot more. I may have to just get them off amazon - I believe they'd be well worth the price.
He also makes reference to Snowman Bob! I thought that was utterly genius! Make sure you read that story before you read this one.
My favorite is Reindeer Christmas, but Scarecrow Pete is my close second. The Snowman Bob and Snowgirl Sue are also really good - but Scarecrow Pete and Reindeer Christmas as just wonderful.
I'm disappointed that we've read all the books from Moulton that the library has in stock - he's written a lot more. I may have to just get them off amazon - I believe they'd be well worth the price.
September 8, 2008
Nice pictures and has a very pro-reading message. A boy befriends a scarecrow who shares with him the joys of reading. "You can do most anything, meet anyone you please, travel anywhere you like, and do it all with ease. Just find a place that's comfortable- a nice, warm, cozy nook- and lose yourself amoung the pages of a favorite book!" Although the story takes place over the course of a summer, the illustrations were very fall-like to me.
October 21, 2010
Recommended to me by a kindergarten colleague of mine, this fall book written in verse is for the book lover in us all.
-"And after every story, every book that we'd devour, we'd sit back with each other, and we'd laugh and chat for hours. Sometimes we both agreed on what the story was about. Other times we disagreed. Sometimes we were in doubt. And sometimes we would just enjoy the book for what it was-a simple, little story written 'only just because.'"
-"And after every story, every book that we'd devour, we'd sit back with each other, and we'd laugh and chat for hours. Sometimes we both agreed on what the story was about. Other times we disagreed. Sometimes we were in doubt. And sometimes we would just enjoy the book for what it was-a simple, little story written 'only just because.'"
October 21, 2010
A boy meets a scarecrow with a suitcase full of books and they spend the summer reading together. The boy learns to love books and reading. Many of the titles they read together are classics but may not appeal to most kids.
January 1, 2016
Pete encourages reading. There is a box of books beneath where he is hanging. It contains the classics and Pete and the boy read them and go on adventures. I liked the synopsis of the stories used in the book. What a wonderful idea!
November 29, 2025
I actually got this as a gift from one of the classrooms I did one of my student teaching field studies in, but never read it to a group of students until today. I was actually surprised by how enchanted my students were by the rhymes and the message.
February 28, 2009
This is a little bit cheesy but might work as a fun read aloud to a class before they go on summer vacation. Grades 2+
November 21, 2009
a good read, but long for little kids.
October 11, 2010
Scarecrow Pete teaches the little boy the joy of reading. Showing him that he can go anywhere and be anything just from opening a book.
November 26, 2010
Great story written in rhyme. We all loved it and it has a message that encourages reading.
January 26, 2011
Beautiful illustrations and a catchy (if corny at times) rhyming verse that encourages reading!
November 27, 2011
Verbose and cluttered, this book loses its attempted wit in page after page of stretched, forced prose. The moral of the story is nice, if it can keep its audience interested long enough to hear it.
December 17, 2012
The artwork is fabulous but I found there was way to much text for the age group it is written for.
October 22, 2013
"Why, I can go most anywhere by reading a good book."
- A good book to read before bed to your little one.
- NOT necessarily a good storytime (for libraries) book.
- A good book to read before bed to your little one.
- NOT necessarily a good storytime (for libraries) book.
March 14, 2014
Great book to motivate reading!
October 20, 2014
Good for grades k-5
LOVE
LOVE
November 15, 2010
Great story that promotes reading!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews