Pumpkins
Written and illustrated by Ken Robbins
Roaring Brook Press, $14.95
32 pp.; ISBN 1596431849

Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews

Halloween books are kind of like Halloween candy -- you can only devour so much of the same before you're in the mood for something a little different. If you and your little goblins have had enough of witches, ghosts, black cats and spooky things that go bump in the night, then try Ken Robbins' Pumpkins for a nice change of pace that's still seasonal and has lots of visual appeal.

With a simple and straightforward narrative, Ken Robbins presents to young readers the humble pumpkin, from seed to fully-grown gourd, whether its ultimate destination is a road-side stand, jack o 'lantern, pie, or decay on the vine. Large full-color photographs simultaneously tell the story pictorially -- readers see the seeds being planted, the flowering yellow blossoms on the pumpkin vine, the small green gourds growing and changing color to a vibrant orange, and then wide fields of orange pumpkins as the vines die away in the fall.

Once he's established the life cycle of the pumpkin, Robbins' book takes a more whimsical turn. Extraordinary pumpkins get a turn under the spotlight, for example, one of Robbins' photos shows a small boy standing next to one gigantic pumpkin that weighed in at more than 1,000 pounds. Plus, there are photos of uncommon pumpkins -- squat ones, small ones, green and tan and mottled ones. Robbins then turns to Halloween fun, outlining the steps you'd need to take to carve a jack o 'lantern. Responsibly, Robbins' advises young readers to enlist the help of a grownup for the actual carving.

Rounding out the book, Robbins touches on the pumpkin's end -- either as a jack o 'lantern, pie filling, food for wild animals, or rotting on the vine, leaving seeds behind to start the cycle again next spring.

Ken Robbins, a veteran writer of nonfiction children's books, has written a book that meets kids at their level -- never condescending or over-simplifying. He anticipates most kids' questions; Pumpkins covers a broad scope of information about pumpkins. He catches readers' attention immediately, opening the book with a dynamic, descriptive paragraph. He then keeps readers' attention throughout the book with his accessible and lively writing style.

In addition to writing the book, Robbins illustrated it, too, with his own photographs. Highly detailed pictures of the flowering vine and young pumpkins are the next best thing to being out there in the pumpkin field with your kids. The pictures are big -- often taking up the whole page, and the text is set off unobtrusively; neither overwhelms the other.

Pumpkins is a great choice for kids, especially if you're planning a trip (or have recently gone) to the pumpkin patch. Readers with a natural curiosity about the world around them will find much to spark their interest here, and hands-on types will love attempting their own jack o 'lanterns. The detailed photographs offer lots of opportunity for discussion between parents and kids -- talking about size and color, seasons, planting and growing vegetables, carving, pumpkin pie, going pumpkin picking, and more.

So when you're looking to add a little vegetables to your child's reading diet, go for Pumpkins, and there's a good chance they'll ask for seconds.