Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere! I may have actually squealed when I opened a package from Parragon Books and found this brand new Halloween book for kids inside. We love all things pumpkin and the boys can't get enough Halloween books (seriously, we read them all year long). So when this one arrived for review we couldn't wait to check it out... and make something special to go with it!
I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This post also contains affiliate links. See my Disclosure Policy for details.
Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere is a new Halloween book for toddlers & preschoolers, written by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Lorena Alvarez. It's a fun book with big, beautiful illustrations. The text is minimal, and follows a group of pumpkins on their way to a Halloween parade. It's fun to read aloud, with rhyming lines and an easy cadence.
Much of the text describes the pumpkins - "Pumpkin happy, pumpkin sad..." which is a great opening to talk with preschoolers about emotions and recognizing facial expressions (even on pumpkins!). Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere features Halloween staples - trick or treaters, ghosts, a Halloween party - all in a fun and not too scary way for little readers. My boys love pumpkins, so they were quite taken with the book.
As part of our Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere story time, I decided to make them their very own pumpkin patch in a bottle! It's super easy and so fun.
To make a Pumpkin Patch in a Bottle, you will need:
- Clear water bottle (I love Voss bottles)
- Ground coffee
- Candy pumpkins
- Green shredded paper
- Glue (optional, to seal the bottle if needed)
Start by filling your bottle about half way with ground coffee (unused) for your dirt. Add a handful of candy pumpkins. Then top with the green shredded paper. If you are concerned that your child will open the bottle, seal with glue.
That's it! Your Pumpkin Patch in a Bottle is now ready. My boys couldn't wait to check it out. We started by talking about where pumpkins grow - they knew right away that the pumpkins were "growing" out of the dirt.
We also spent some time practicing counting - how many pumpkins could we find inside?
Finally, we decided to shake it up a bit. The coffee is so fine that you can turn it, roll it around or shake it up and you'll still be able to find and count your pumpkins. How fun is that?
We really enjoyed Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere and our Pumpkin Patch in a Bottle made it even more fun. Click here to see more of our favorite pumpkin activities, including 10 No Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas and Silly Sticker Pumpkins!
What's your favorite Halloween story book? Leave a comment below or message me on Facebook and let me know!