About the Holiday

There may be no vegetable/holiday match quite like pumpkins and Halloween. While pumpkins make delicious pie for Thanksgiving, bread and muffins for a fall breakfast or snack, and even flavor lattes and smoothies, it’s their use as jack-o-lanterns that really make pumpkins seasonal stars. There’s something a bit magical about a fluttering candle lighting up a scary or funny orange face on a front porch or door step, and if you’re a fan of painted pumpkins, they have a style all their own too! To celebrate today, head out to your local farm market or pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect pumpkins for making jack-o-lanterns and your favorite treats!

Five Little Pumpkins

Illustrated by Ben Mantle

As the sun set, painting the sky purple and indigo, there were “five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.” When the full moon smiled down, “The first one said, ‘My, it’s getting late!’” They watched the witches take to their brooms, the spiders come out to play, and the ghosts rise and float through the forest. The five little pumpkins wanted to run and play too.

Image copyright Ben Mantle, 2010, courtesy of Tiger Tales Books.

They bound down the hill as the wind howled and the ghosts danced with the swirling leaves. The ghosts spin around and around the laughing pumpkins until… “out went the light…,” And in the total darkness, “the five little pumpkins…rolled out of sight!”

Image copyright Ben Mantle, 2010, courtesy of Tiger Tales Books.

Ben Mantle’s adorable take on the Halloween classic nursery rhyme for babies and toddlers offers cozy shivers, sweet smiles, and cute wide-eyed wonder for little ones dazzled by this spooky fun holiday. Saturated blues, purples, and greens set off the brilliant orange of the playful pumpkins as they abandon their post on the gate to have a midnight romp. The wide grins on all of the holiday haunters—witches, whose brooms paint starlight across the sky, tiny pink monster bats, hopping toads, a bounding cat, hairy-legged spiders, and gauzy ghosts—will make young readers giggle with delight as they roll into bed while the five little pumpkins return home.

Five Little Pumpkins, with its soft padded cover and sturdy pages, is an enchanting book to add to home bookshelves for the fall season, Halloween, and beyond.

Ages 2 – 4

Tiger Tales, 2010 | ISBN 978-1589258563

To learn more about Ben Mantle, his books, and his art, visit his website.

National Pumpkin Day Activity

Acorn Pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns

With acorns falling tap, tap, tap in bushels on the ground and other delicious nuts readily available in grocery stores and farmers markets, autumn is the perfect time for this craft that turns nuts into pumpkins!

Supplies

• Acorns or walnuts
• Orange multi-surface acrylic craft paint or spray paint  
• Paint brush
• Black, fine tip marker

Directions

For Acorns

1. Remove the caps
2. If using acorns for crafts that will be kept long-term, follow these Directions for Drying Acorns
3. Hold the acorn with the flat side down. The little tip will serve as the pumpkin’s stem.
4. Paint the acorn, leaving the just the tip brown, let dry
5. With the flat side down, draw a face on your “pumpkin.” Let dry
6. Use your little pumpkin in decorations around your house or make a tiny pumpkin patch in a box or jar lid with paper, sticks, leaves or other material

For Walnuts

1. If you live in an area where there are no oak trees, you can use walnuts or other nuts available in grocery stores. These do not need to be baked before using.
2. Paint and decorate according to the directions: For Acorns

You can find Five Little Pumpkins at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

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