Fall is a great time to read about pumpkins. Pumpkins connect with a farm or harvest theme, can connect with Halloween, and can even lead to talking about Thanksgiving. Here are some favorite books about pumpkins to build background knowledge and encourage literacy skills in the process.
Books About Pumpkins
for Pre-K
for Pre-KWhen fall settles in, your kids will enjoy reading all about pumpkins and what people do with them.
Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Seven Kroll
Two mice find the same pumpkin and want it. Clayton comes every day to care for it. Desmond come ever night to care for it. The pumpkin grows and grows.
From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
A farmer plants hundreds of pumpkin seeds that grow into plants and produce pumpkins. This book includes introduction to some basic science concepts about plants and how they grow.
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara
Mr. Tiffin places three pumpkins on his desk–large, medium, and small. “How many seeds are in a pumpkin?” he asks. The class makes many guesses. Then they open up the pumpkins to find the answer. A good book for talking about math concepts.
It’s Pumpkin Time by Zoe Hall
A girl and her brother plant a jack-o-lantern patch to prepare for Halloween.
Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson
From pumpkin seeds to pumpkins to pumpkin seeds again. This book contains lots of photos that illustrate (with the text) all aspects of the pumpkin life cycle.
Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell
Tim carves his first pumpkin and names him Jack. After Halloween, Jack begins to rot. Tim places the pumpkin in the garden and watches what happens to Jack.
Pumpkin Day! by Candice Ransom
A family sets out to go to the pumpkin patch and find the perfect pumpkins for their house.
The Great Pumpkin Contest by Angie Rozelaar
Mimi and Clara both want to win the Great Pumpkin Contest. They work to grow their pumpkins larger. But even though they both want to win, they are friends who help each other.
Pumpkin Countdown by Joan Holub
A class counts down to their fun trip to the pumpkin patch.
How to Help a Pumpkin Grow by Ashley Wolff
Dog is growing pumpkins. He works hard to protect them, weed their patch, and give them water. But what are the other animals up to?
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White
Rebecca Estelle has never liked pumpkins and would never plant any. But one day a huge pumpkin falls off a truck into the edge of her yard. Splat! She covers the mess and ignores it. Vines begin to grow. She ignores them too. Until fall when her yard is covered with pumpkins. What will she do?
Amara’s Farm by JaNay Brown-Wood
Amara’s friends are coming to eat at her farm. She needs pumpkins to make the perfect side dish. So she begins her search for the pumpkins all over the farm.
Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas
Duck begins to carve a pumpkin but gets trapped inside. Who will help Duck get out?
Books About Pumpkins
Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
Jamie plants a pumpkin seed and watches it grow. It grows into a large pumpkin.
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
In an old white cabin, three friends work together to make pumpkin soup each night. Each one has his own special job in the soup making. One day, Duck wants to change jobs and this causes trouble.
The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis
The Baxter children harvest a large pumpkin at the top of a hill. But the pumpkin gets away and begins rolling down the hill. What will happen to that runaway pumpkin?
How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? by Wendell Minor
This book celebrates pumpkin contests and shows giant pumpkins in places across America.
Pumpkins by Melvin and Gilda Berger
Learn all about pumpkins with these photographs and fun facts.
Check out this research-based, playful learning unit in our curriculum shop!
Pumpkin Activities Bundle
The pumpkin activities bundle includes 6 of my most popular resources such as math, literacy, science - and more for plenty of hands-on fun!
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum
This nonfiction book contains more complex vocabulary. Instead of focusing on the life cycle, this book tells more about pumpkins and their uses.
Pumpkins by Erika L. Shores
Another simple and accessible nonfiction book about pumpkins with great photos.
The Very Best Pumpkin by Mark Kimball Moulton
Peter lives on Pumpkin Hill Farm, where his family grows all kinds of pumpkins. Peter follows a long wandering vine to find a small lonely pumpkin. Every day he tends the pumpkin. He saves the pumpkin to give to a special friend.
The Great Pumpkin Pancake Party by Celeste Pewter
Lao Ye is throwing a fall party for his neighbors. Lilly, his granddaughter, is excited but a little worried that the neighbors may not like the family’s recipes.
Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins by Dianne Ochiltree
Sam is gather pumpkins in the wagon to bring to Grandpa when the wagon gets loose and the pumpkins go rolling.
Duck and Goose, Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills
Duck and Goose look everywhere for a big pumpkin but can’t see to find one anywhere.
Pumpkin Hill by Elizabeth Spurr
Pumpkin seeds grow on the hill, year after year, with no one tending them. Then, one year, a huge group of pumpkins roly-poly down the hill into the valley town.
