Are you looking for some Pumpkin themed children’s books to use in your classroom that include literacy extension activities? This list may be just what you are looking for!
Pumpkins can be a great theme to engage your students. It is filled with some exciting literacy experiences to explore. You may have had the opportunity to read some of these Pumpkin books already, but hopefully some will be a new adventure for you and your kids. Explore with your children the theme of Pumpkins by trying these engaging books and some of the extension activities suggested.
1. From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
Pumpkins can be baked in a pie, carved into jack-o’-lanterns, and roasted for a healthy snack. But how does a tiny seed turn into a big pumpkin? With clear text and detailed, colorful illustrations, this book explains what a pumpkin seed needs to help it grow!
This book also includes delicious pumpkin recipes and easy experiments to do with pumpkin seeds. It is a Stage 1 Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explains simple science concepts for preschoolers and kindergarteners.
Literacy Extensions:
- Pumpkin Writing Station Words
- “I See Pumpkins” Student Counting & Color Booklet
- Pumpkin Seed Art Project
- Pumpkin Letter & Beginning Sound Match Game
2. The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis
Try this wonderful rhyming picture book about the delicious fate of a gigantic pumpkin on the run. When Buck, Billy, and their little sister Lil spy the biggest pumpkin they’ve ever seen, they can’t resist. Buck and Billy try to roll the pumpkin down the hill to show everyone, but it’s too big!
Before they know it, it’s bumping and thumping and rolling out of control down the hillside. It busts through Momma Baxter’s sty and makes her think of pumpkin pie. It knocks over Grandpa Baxter and makes him think of pumpkin soup. And when Poppa Baxter finally stops it in a pumpkin bed, all he can think of is pumpkin bread. Read all about the adventures to of the Runaway Pumpkin!
Literacy Extensions:
- “Pumpkin Fun” Classroom Book
- “Pumpkin Senses” Student Booklet
- Pumpkin Story Retelling Organizer Worksheet
- Pumpkin Seed Counting Game
3. How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? By Margaret McNamara
For curious kids, this explores skip counting and estimation in a fun pumpkin-themed classroom experiment. “How many seeds are in a pumpkin?” Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk.
Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she’s talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn’t have a guess. Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done; you’ll have to read and find out!
Literacy Extensions:
- Pumpkin Word Bank
- “Pumpkin Senses” Student Booklet
- “Pumpkin Poem” Art Project
- Pumpkin Sight Word Match Game
4. The Very Best Pumpkin by Mark Moulton
Growing up on Mimi and Papa’s farm, Peter knows a lot about caring for pumpkins. One summer Peter finds a lonely pumpkin all by itself in the field, and with his tender care, the pumpkin flourishes. By autumn, it’s the very best pumpkin of all, and Peter wants to keep it for himself.
But when a young girl shows up at the farm in quest of a perfect pumpkin, will Peter pass on his prized pumpkin and gain a friend? This enchanting story is filled with the magic of autumn and friendship.
Literacy Extensions:
- Classroom Book: “All About Pumpkins”
- Pumpkin Retelling Story Organizer
- Pumpkin Roll It! Read It! Short Vowels
- Pumpkin Letter & Sound Match
5. Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins by Dianne Ochiltree
Hooray! It’s harvest time in the pumpkin patch! After gathering sixteen pumpkins to bring to his Grandpa, Sam’s full wagon suddenly takes off and causes the pumpkins to go rolling back down the hill
Whoosh! There they go! Can Sam catch sixteen hill-rolling, ditch-jumping, stump-bumping, runaway pumpkins? Come along on Sam’s pumpkin-counting adventure to find out!
Literacy Extensions:
- “Pumpkin Senses” Student Booklet
- Pumpkin Story Sequencing Student Worksheet
- Pumpkin Sight Word Match Game
- Pumpkin Number & Ten Frames
6. Searching for the Perfect Pumpkin by Frank Fiorello
The story of pumpkin tells the tale of the littlest pumpkin that is unpicked for Halloween. It has been tossed out into the winter fields, only to come back to life the following Spring!
It’s a very cute story that shows what happens to the pumpkin as it goes through each of the months. It is a perfect story for a fiction/nonfiction mix for kids.
Literacy Extensions:
- Pumpkin Word Bank
- Pumpkin Literature Retelling Organizer Student Page
- Pumpkin Make a Short Vowel Word Game
- Pumpkin Roll & Cover Math Games
7. Seven Orange Pumpkins by Stephen Savage
A rhyming Halloween counting board book sure to delight the youngest trick-or-treaters. Join a sneaky spider, a wily witch, a silly scarecrow, and other favorite spooky creatures as seven orange pumpkins disappear in a countdown to a Halloween surprise.
Bright, bold, and fun, Seven Orange Pumpkins is a perfect read-aloud and is sure to capture the imagination of the littlest trick-or-treaters.
Literacy Extensions:
- “Pumpkin” Classroom Book
- Pumpkin Student Story
- Pumpkin Sight Word Match Game
- Pumpkin Build 2 Addend Addition Number Sentences
8. Splat the Cat and the Pumpkin Picking Plan by Rob Scotton
Take a trip to the pumpkin patch in this funny Splat the Cat tale. Splat goes to a pumpkin patch with Seymour, and he is determined to find the biggest pumpkin ever.
But when he finally does, Splat finds out the real challenge isn’t the pumpkin picking. It’s how to get the pumpkin home! Read all about Splat’s funny autumn misadventures in this funny story.
Literacy Extensions:
- Pumpkin Writing Station Words
- Pumpkin Match Game
- Pumpkin Art Project
- Pumpkin Roll & Cover Math Game
Finally, there are so many Pumpkin children’s books you can choose from. From Pumpkin fiction to nonfiction, the list of books is endless. Remember to pick the books that best fit the needs of your students or children and support your learning activities. Happy Reading!
Find some more literacy and extension activities in my store, The Teaching Scene by Maureen.
To read more blog topics check out my blog, “A Guide to Using Literature-Based Units of Study.”
