Planning a pumpkin unit? Here’s some of our favorite pumpkin read-alouds for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. This round-up of pumpkin picture books covers both fiction and non-fiction. We’ve even included a few pumpkin crafts and activities to extend your reading into some hands-on pumpkin fun!

Pumpkin Picture Books

Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White. A fun tale about a woman Linda who dislikes pumpkins. Her dislike for the pumpkins that grew in her front yard leads to so many creative ways to give them away!

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper. Three friends discover the ups and downs of team work, sharing, and what really makes pumpkin soup taste good!

The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis. This rhythmic story follows a pumpkin that is let loose by the Baxter boys only to end up as that night’s dinner!

How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? by Wendell Minor. This book imagines decorating huge pumpkins in some of America’s favorite places. It’s full of fun facts and very creative illustrations. It’s probably one of the best pumpkin books to come out in children’s literature in the past ten years!

Pumpkin Countdown by Joan Holub. The kids are going on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. Help them count and read numbers. Covers up to number 20.

T he Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano. Being a very unique square pumpkin can save the day!

Science & History Pumpkin Picture Books

From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer. This book covers the life cycle of the pumpkin. It’s a perfect addition to your science units during pumpkin season.

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara. This story is a great way to introduce and learn how to skip count. It is loaded with pumpkin facts

The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons. Gibbons’ books are always a must-have in the primary years! She includes realistic illustrations about how to grow a pumpkin and the history of Halloween.

Pumpkin (Watch It Grow) by Barrie Watts. This is great for your pumpkin life cycle studies because this book has close-up pictures of the step by step life cycle of the pumpkin.

Halloween Pumpkin Picture Books

Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman. The witch wants to make pumpkin pie with the big pumpkin she grew but she has troubling getting it off the vine. Her Halloween friends all try to help her and the most surprising Halloween creature succeeds. Find out who!
The Bumpy Little Pumpkin by Margery Cuyler. A cute little tale about a girl who grows pumpkin in her garden. She chooses the bumpy pumpkin to carve into a jack-o-lantern even though everyone else thinks it’s ugly.

My childhood favorite The Pumpkin Smasher by Anita Benarde. The story has a Grinch-like feel to it with wonderful illustrations too! It will hold any reluctant reader’s attention!

After reading any of the above books about pumpkins, extend your kids’ love and knowledge of pumpkins with our interactive pumpkin activity!

A big part of crafting and creating is understanding the elements of art. Hope over to our pumpkin themed elements of art activity so your children can discover their art potential!

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Happy pumpkin reading!

Karen