Five darling little pumpkins of various shapes and sizes wander into a haunted wood filled with friendly witches, cuddly black cats, and smiling ghosts. By the end of the poem they roll out of the dark and spooky - but entirely non-frightening - forest and off into the sunset.
While I could do without the ghosts, I appreciate how the illustrator took "spooky" characters and rendered them harmless with sweet and friendly faces. My girls and I love the illustrations, and we all got a kick out of the "out went the light" page which shows the pumpkins shining brilliantly as jack-o-lanterns. I can't wait to read it again after we carve a jack-o-lantern of our own!
Pillsbury Pumpkin Cookies
I'm in the middle of getting our house ready to sell, so time for elaborate crafts and messy projects is at a minimum. Yet I also want to make the point that literary-themed activities don't have to be complicated or uber-creative.
Taking five minutes to read a book together and then acting out the story with store-bought cookie dough can be just as enriching as anything the most creative educator could conceive.
It's simply about teaching your children to love literature and time together... and of course a good cookie or two!
Disclaimer: Five Little Pumpkins was provided to me courtesy of Tiger Tails Books free of charge in exchange for a review. This does not in any way influence my review.
You are so right - not every activity has to be elaborate - and those cookies are so cute. I'm sure the girls loved them.
ReplyDeleteGood luck selling your house. We just sold and moved last November so I know exactly what you are going through. I hope you are in a better housing market than we are!
I love the little precut cookies! We bake a lot from scratch around here, but those cookies sure do come in handy like you said. Cute go along for the book too.
ReplyDeleteGood luck.
We just worked with that poem today too!
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten all about that poem! See, that's why I love your blog. Even those of us with teaching backgrounds need some help with activities for the itty bitties. I bought a dvd called Spookly the Square Pumpkin for $5 at Target and it's adorable. (Mommy needed a sick day last week so we had more tv time than usual) It's about accepting others when they look different. So cute.
ReplyDeleteWe checked a less cute and slightly spookier version of this out yesterday to use as our activity for today...although we're going to draw faces on five mini-pumpkins instead. (But I just finished a batch of sugar cookie dough to make some periodic table cookies for Hubby's classes since his birthday and Mole Day (purely a chemistry holiday) are this week. Good luck selling your house! Are you going to be moving far away or just to a different house in your same area?
ReplyDeleteCute! And the disclaimer is awesome- you're getting into the big leagues, lady.
ReplyDeleteChristiane -
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your colorful review of Five Little Pumpkins. Your blog is a treat! We hope your followers will check out our website and blog at tigertalesbooks.com.
Looking forward to hearing much more from you in the next few months!
Happy Reading,
Elizabeth
tiger tales
You are so right! Sometimes it's the simple activities, that bring the story home the best :)
ReplyDeleteI love the cookie tie-in. I reviewed this book too. While we are not big on ghosts at my house either, I appreciated that they weren't scary.
ReplyDelete