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Five Little Pumpkins
by Iris Van Rynbach
(Check Catalog)

Humorous full-color illustrations complement the popular finger rhyme about the adventures of five little pumpkins that are supposed to be sitting on a gate but instead enjoy a wild and wacky Halloween.

An illustrated version of the popular finger rhyme about the adventures of five little pumpkins that are supposed to be sitting on a gate but instead enjoy a wild and wacky Halloween.

The added dimension of the printed page in a finger-play-turned-picture-book does little to extend a text that was better suited to its original form. Van Rynbach's watercolors are animated but poorly matched with the simple rhyme; the result is a thin excuse for a Halloween story. Copyright 1998 Horn Book Guide Reviews

Horn Book Guide Reviews 1996 (HG96)

PreS-Gr 1-A picture-book version of an old finger rhyme, illustrated in watercolor and ink with one line of verse appearing on each of 10 double-page spreads. The scene is Halloween night in the country, as two smiling witches, a clown, a ghost, and a devil go trick-or-treating with a black cat to three spookily decorated Victorian houses. The children are accompanied by five jack-o-lanterns that roll along with them until it's time to go home-``and the five little pumpkins/rolled out of sight.'' This popular rhyme can be found in many anthologies, so the book is not an essential purchase. But for an atmospheric and nonthreatening Halloween experience, and for libraries that never have enough books for this popular holiday, it is a cheerful addition.-Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME

SLJ Reviews 1995 October (SL5J)