Independent Reading Level: 1st-2nd grade
Awards: N/A

Genre
Canadian fiction
Halloween stories
Picture books for children
Tone
Feel-good
Illustration
Minimally colored
Theme
Living with visible disability
Subject
City life
Gourds
Halloween
Individuality
Jack-o-lanterns
Pumpkin
Rejection (Psychology)
Character
Anthropomorphic
Physically disabled
Sympathetic

Really good! But also intense- it’s so rough that Stumpkin had to look up at his adopted friends. ( )

This book is so cute. A poor pumpkin that didn't have a stem, but instead had a stump. I loved the illustrations in this book. Mainly black and white, the orange pumpkins stand out and make the illustrations almost come to life.

A pumpkin without a stem watches anxiously as all the others from the corner store are selected to become jack-o'-lanterns. Halloween night finally brings the lone pumpkin a sense of relief and belonging. An intriguing visual trick at the story's climax encourages us to see the neighborhood through the pumpkin's eyes during its transformation into a jack-o'-lantern. The perspective shift offers a fun little moment of narrative mystery to discuss with kids. The heart-warming tale unfolds against a silhouetted cityscape painted in black, white, and beige, with very clever pops of orange, green, and yellow. The overall effect is cozily autumnal.

Song pairings: "Pumpkin, pumpkin, on the ground"
Might make for a compelling flannel adaptation.