Little Pumpkin: A First Halloween Story

by Lisa Edwards, Kat Kalindi (Illustrator)

Overview

Follow Little Pumpkin as she and Big Pumpkin prepare for a fun night with their fall friends!

With gentle, rhyming text, Little Pumpkin is perfect for the smallest readers to celebrate fall. While exploring the love between a parent and child, this board book is an excellent expression of love with a unique fall theme.
Little Pumpkin and Big Pumpkin greet their nighttime friends, from bats to cats to owls and beyond. With a fun Halloween theme, this board book with a fun and special cover is perfect for little hands.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593465189
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/23/2022
Series:	You are the Light , #2
Pages:	12
Sales rank:	233,383
Product dimensions:	6.31(w) x 6.69(h) x 0.49(d)
Lexile:	AD440L (what's this?)
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

Lisa Edwards is a former children’s publisher who is now a freelance writer, editor, and Yoga teacher. She splits her time between the United Kingdom and India, and is committed to bringing the spiritual ideas she has learned to a young audience, to encourage them to discover and celebrate the joy that lies inside every living being, including themselves.

Kat Kalindi is an illustrator and surface pattern designer from the sunny Gold Coast, Australia. Kat has been illustrating for over twelve years. She has a love of pop Asian culture, Hello Kitty toys, Russian dolls, Scandinavian folk art, bold colors, geometrics, and vintage children’s illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2022

Baby-Toddler—In this spooky installment of the "You Are the Light" series, Little Pumpkin and Big Pumpkin welcome a cast of nighttime forest animals to the annual Halloween Ball. Under the moonlit night sky, Cat, Owl, Spider, and others tenderly express their love for Little Pumpkin using a repeating rhyme scheme: "You are the light that sparkles bright,/ when all around is darkest night./ Everyone gathers to see the sight./ Little Pumpkin, we love you!" Kalindi's adorable stylized illustrations are clear and boldly colored, with the predictable combination of orange pumpkins against a purple background. However, there is not significant variation in the layout from spread to spread, which may cause readers to lose interest. The overall presentation is quite similar to the "You're My Little" board books, but, unfortunately, Edwards's book cannot compete with the spell of that series. Still, young readers and grown-ups who enjoy those books will want to try this one out. VERDICT A charming board book. Not an essential purchase, but sure to vanish from public library shelves at Halloween.—Emily Brush

School Library Journal

2022-06-22
Pumpkins, owls, spiders, a cat, and a bat gather under a tree to join the Halloween Ball.

A small pumpkin sits next to a larger one as sweet things are said about it. Though the sentiments expressed are charming, at times the rhyming text likely won’t have much resonance for younger readers: “You are the light that sparkles bright, / when all around is darkest night. / Everyone gathers to see the sight.” Or “You are the light / that warms our friends, / when the dark / and cold descends. / We will dance / before night ends.” Each spread ends with “Little Pumpkin, we love you!” The intended audience may overlook making meaning out of the text as they focus instead on the illustrations. The artwork, though a bit static and on the generic side, is nevertheless pleasant and toddler friendly, with the characters set against a background in appealing nighttime hues of blue, teal, and purple. This one likely won’t become a Halloween read-aloud favorite. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Though the sentiment is sweet, the delivery falls flat. (Board book. 1-3)

Kirkus Reviews