Review by Booklist Review
This charming picture book is sure to get readers into the Halloween spirit. Jaunty, lilting rhymed text follows a mom and two kids as they go to a pumpkin patch and pick out a couple of suitable pumpkins (""Vivid orange, / ghostly white, / or speckled green / might be just right""). Once they're back home, step-by-step directions guide the family in getting ready for Halloween: cleaning the pumpkins and carving appropriately terrifying expressions, of course, but also decorating the house, donning costumes, fetching their trick-or-treat goody bags, and, finally, illuminating their perfect jack-o'-lanterns. The brief but expressive passages beg to be read aloud, and the verses often end with teasers for the following page: ""Next,"" ""Then,"" or ""All together. . ."" The pencil, chalk, and paint illustrations feature gradually deepening shades of green, blue, and purple as darkness falls, with cozy oranges and yellows helping create suitably spooky, dreamlike scenes. Featuring a multiracial cast of characters, plus plenty of intriguing visual details, this newest offering from the team responsible for the popular Pick a Pine Tree (2017) is sure to be another crowd-pleaser, perfect for home snuggling and group storytimes alike.--Kathleen McBroom Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a sequel to their Christmas-themed Pick a Pine Tree, Toht and Jarvis follow a family and their circle of pals as they transform some humble pumpkin-patch residents into the ultimate symbol of Halloween: the jack-o'-lantern. As in the previous book, the rhymes are lively and lilting, even featuring some of the same cues ("But, wait!") that push readers to the next spread. The pacing, leisurely but never slack, savors each stage of the pumpkins' journey to spooky fabulousness, including the a wagon ride and the removal of "Clumpy seeds. Guts and things." Jarvis's bustling, chalk-textured pictures evoke the spirit of homespun fun, while the deep color palette--punctuated by radiant orange, of course ("Its red-hot eyes/ will gaze/ and flicker;/ Its fiery grin/ will blaze and snicker")--feels like a favorite fall flannel. Ages 3--7. (July)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Readers follow a family from picking pumpkins through carving a jack-o'-lantern to trick-or-treating around the neighborhood in this rhyming, artful picture book.A family picks pumpkins from the patch on the farm: "Vivid orange, / ghostly white, / or speckled green / might be just right." Back at home, they prepare their space, invite "a friend or two / form a PUMPKIN-CARVING CREW!" Cleaning out the pumpkin's inside gets especially sensory treatment: "Lumpy chunks. Sticky strings. / Clumpy seeds. Guts and things." All the variations of eyes, noses, and mouths ("A smirk. A snarl. / An eerie O. / Or pointy fangs, / all in a row" complete the carvings. Then it's time for decorations, costumes, lighting the jack-o'-lanterns "to guard your house / while you have fun." The illustrations use pencil, chalk, paint, and digital color with hues of purple and orange against blue and pink backgrounds to create a feeling of fall and dusk. The story moves from family to friends to a panoramic view of the street lined with jack-o'-lanterns in the final spread, capturing the magic of seasonal traditions. The nearly flawless rhythm of the text is a pleasure to read and will likely become a favorite. The family is interracial, with a black dad, Asian mom, and biracial kids.Enchanting. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
