Product Description

The witch has grown the biggest pumpkin ever, and now she wants to make herself a pumpkin pie for Halloween. But the pumpkin is so big she can't get it off the vine.

It's so big the ghost can't move it, either. Neither can the vampire, nor the mummy. It looks as if there'll be no pumpkin pie for Halloween, until along comes the bat with an idea to save the day.

How can the tiny bat succeed where bigger and strong spooky creatures have failed? You'll be surprised!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62193 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689801297
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
A rhythmic text and a vibrant palette combine in a Halloween tale noteworthy for its finely tuned balance of drama and comedy. A green-faced witch, with pickle-shaped nose and chin, decides to mark the holiday by baking a pumpkin pie. But the pumpkin she's planted is stuck on the vine. A gallery of graveyard ghouls comes to her aid--first a translucent white ghost, then a smartly dressed vampire, a tightly bound mummy and, finally, a bat with a bright idea. Their breezy conversations create a pleasantly sinister mood that stops just short of being scary. Accordingly, in Schindler's hands the cast looks not so much spooky as spirited. The eye-catching full-spread illustrations, in rich hues of orange and blue, capture the midnight magic, while dropped-out type adds an extra dash of mystery. A fine combination of fright and fun. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-- A rollicking, amusing Halloween tale. Based on the Russian folktale ``The Turnip,'' it's the cumulative tale of a witch who plants a pumpkin seed in anticipation of a Halloween pie. When the pumpkin grows too large, however, she finds she needs the help of some fitting wanderers: ghost, vampire, mummy, and a little bat. Some nice lessons are learned: the need for help from others, the joy of sharing, and that everyone--no matter what size-- has something to offer. The text is rhythmic and repetitive, making it a surefire success for story hours or read-alouds. Schindler's richly colored illustrations lend humor and give a lively feeling to the characters and plot, helping to make the story nonthreatening for the youngest of readers. The book starts with a large border, and the pictures and the pumpkin grow as large as the page. Rousing good fun for the Halloween season and far beyond. --Elizabeth Hanson, Chicago Pub . Lib .
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
In a nicely cadenced variant on the cumulative tale about a turnip, a witch is vainly trying to tug a pumpkin off its vine in order to bake a pie. A number of other Halloween figures (ghost, vampire, mummy) happen by to help; they sneer at the little bat who suggests that they all pull together, but then take his advice. They share the witch's pie, and afterward she plants one of the pumpkin seeds. In Schindler's deft, colorful illustrations, these familiar figures take a traditional, popular form, just scary enough to be fun. A sure-fire addition to the Halloween shelf. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Big Pumpkin! Big Fun!
This is a funny, charming Halloween story that introduces some of the traditional frightening monsters of Halloween like a green-faced witch, vampire, ghost, bat, and a mummy but in a non-scary fun-filled way. A delightful old witch plants a seed and grows a huge pumpkin because she has plans for making pumpkin pie. The pumpkin gets so big that she can't get it off the vine and down to her house to make it into a pie. As she struggles, successive passers-by stop to help because they also want some yummy pie. The witch, vampire, ghost and mummy all try using brawn and fail but a clever little bat saves the day with his idea rather than his strength. All the characters are drawn with such a light-hearted and comical approach that there is no scare to them at all, only a funny sense of helpfulness to reach that big goal, a pumpkin pie! You haven't seen a vampire until you've seen one enjoying a bite of pumpkin pie with those incisors and smiling at the same time! Big fun.

Great introduction to "scary" figures
I read this book to my daughter last October when she was just a little over two. She's just turned three and we're using it as our pre-Halloween reading again. What I like best about the book is that the characters, a witch, ghost, vampire, mummy and bat, aren't at all scary. They all have the same sole interest, eating pumpkin pie. There's no witchcraft, no haunting, no nasty mischief. They're basically silly characters, offering parents a good way to introduce young children to them in a way that might later neutralize potentially scarier meetings. This book will not give my three year old nightmares - she may, however dream of pumpkin pie.

Teacher's Favorite
Of all the Halloween books I have in my Halloween box at school, this is the one my students love the best. Since I began using it 4 years ago, my classes(K-2)have usually had it memorized and could say the verses outloud with me as I read. The pictures are incredible. The story is darling. If you happen to come across the book on tape, grab it up quick. The producers put the words to delightful music, and voices that make the book come to life.