Pumpkin Circle
Written by George Levenson, Photgraphs by Shmuel Thaler
Ages 4-8; 40 pages
Tricycle Press, 2004
Reviewed by Heidi Bee Roemer
Book Source: This book was borrowed from the Orland Park Public Library.
Nestled inside the pumpkin’s squishy orange middle is the secret to its life cycle—seeds! The amazing transformation from small seed to garden giant is artistically conveyed through dazzling full-color photographs. Early images show how a planted seed grows roots and sprouts baby leaves. Over the course of a summer, time-lapsed snapshots follow the plants’ growth. Delicate tendrils, massive green leaves, feathery buds, and magnificent golden blossoms fill the pages, until, at last, the first baseball-sized globe appears! Rhymed text describes the pumpkin’s progress. "A hundred days of weather. / A hundred days of care. / Pumpkins climbing up the fence. / Pumpkins everywhere!"
But that’s not the end of the story! Come fall, pumpkins are harvested and some are carved for Halloween. And as the jack-o-lanterns age, they slowly decompose—and you guessed it!— they provide a fertile new place for seeds to sprout. The closing lines underscore this important point: "We can be sure of this: It’s a circle without end. / It’s pumpkin seeds to pumpkins, / to pumpkin seeds again!"
If you feel inspired to plant a seed and watch grow, the final page offers instructions on how to do just that. Available in Spanish and English, hardcover and paperback, Pumpkin Circle is based on an award-winning, 20 minute video. For a video preview, ordering information, classroom activities, a recipe, and related links, visit http://www.pumpkincircle.com/.
This post is part of Nonfiction Monday Round-Up posted this week at Abby the Librarian.
That looks like a cute book for fall!!
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