Pumpkin Countdown

by Joan Holub, Jan Smith (Illustrator)

In this rhyming picture book, a classroom of children goes on a field trip to the pumpkin patch, where they count everything in sight. The book is perfect for the fall season, and an extra fun way to teach children to count backward from twenty. Readers may also enjoy Joan Holub's Apple Countdown.

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Counting, Childrens, Number, School, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

NY Times bestselling children's book author:
GODDESS GIRLS series + HEROES IN TRAINING series (w Suzanne Williams); THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER a Girl Power Primer; ZERO THE HERO; I AM THE SHARK. Lucky to be doing what I love!

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mrs. Blue's class heads to Farmer Mixenmatch's pumpkin patch as part of an educational field trip in this autumnal counting adventure for the picture-book set. Every step of the way there are things to be counted - orange objects on one page, animals on another - and the young reader also learns about the life cycle of pumpkins, and the different varieties of this squash. When the day is done, and the children have each picked a pumpkin, they head home, the children singing a countdown song taught to them by their teacher...

The second seasonal countdown book from American author Joan Holub and British illustrator Jan Smith, following upon their Apple Countdown , Pumpkin Countdown pairs an interactive, educational narrative with bright, colorful artwork. Young readers and listeners will no doubt enjoy searching for the different things they are meant to count on the page, but for my own part, the best thing about the book was learning about the different pumpkin varieties, from the Cinderella (yes, this is a pumpkin variety!) to the Mystic, the Fairytale to the Jack-be-quick. The most interesting looking, to me, were the multicolored Southern Miner and the white Lumina. Recommended to young pumpkin lovers, and to those seeking counting books with seasonal appeal.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This relentlessly purposeful book kind of exhausted me with all the references to ways-to-extend-experiences: Let's count things! Let's divide things into groups! Let's play I Spy! Let's make predictions! Let's read signs! Let's sort things! Let's sing songs!

However, it really is an excellent model for families about how to do just that, and all of the activity ideas are super for growing brains, so there you go. And yay for happy, engaged kids and a beautifully multicultural class.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of cool things about this book, besides the counting down: both end papers have pumpkin facts printed on them; and there is one double-page spread with a line of various pumpkins on a long table, each with a label naming the variety of pumpkin. (Who knew there were so many?)

[M.M. Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know that pumpkins are 90% water and that a vine can grown up to 30 feet long? Well, I didn't either. This is just a couple of the facts written on the inside cover of this cute counting book.

A class takes a field trip to a pumpkin patch. Along the way, they count down from twenty. Items in the countdown are the number of kids on the bus, the number of things they guess they will see on the farm, and the number of animals in the petting zoo. Of course, there is a whole bunch more to count like the different kinds of pumpkins and a load of trivia about pumpkin growing. At the end of the book was a rhyming song. Of course, you will have to read the book to find out what it is. I can say, it is a familiar tune.

As I have read and reviewed many of this author's books, I also enjoyed this one. The whole book was done in rhyme which made it appealing. Another things I liked about the book was the students were all diverse characters, including their teacher, Ms. Blue. Each had colorful names and clothing too. It does help that Fall is my favorite time of year and I like pumpkin patches. *wink*

I loved this book as a whole and is quite different from usual counting books. I give this book 5 pumpkins.

Disclosure: I received this book from the author. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle

[Kayla Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a rhyming picture book called Pumpkin Countdown by Joan Holab, and it is a rhyming picture book all about Halloween and counting. This book focuses on pumpkins which are used in the holiday called Halloween. The children in a classroom go on a field trip to a pumpkin patch, where they count everything that they see there on their way back to the classroom. There are many activities animals participate in leading up to Halloween that involve pumpkins and counting. For example, they pick them up from the pumpkin patch, decorate them, and even use them as costumes. Counting the pumpkins and counting the costumes is a good way to engage the reader about counting. The animals are becoming more excited as the countdown to Halloween and Halloween's pumpkins continues because they know how long it will take. In the spirit of Halloween, they have been eagerly anticipating the day when they will be able to carve their pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns once again. Nodelman illustrates that "we provide children with books like this on the assumption that pictures communicate more naturally and more directly than words, and thus help young learners make sense of the texts they accompany" ( Nodelman, 128). This illustrates that even when a child can't read the words, he or she will look at the pictures to visually understand the story.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

With brightly painted illustrations, rhyming text that incorporate counting and numbers, and a fun story about a field trip to the pumpkin patch, this fun picture book invites young readers to count along. Ms. Blue's class is going on the field trip and readers will have the opportunity to count nametags, bus seats, animals, and of course, pumpkins. There are fun pumpkin facts on the endpapers and the book also includes information about growing pumpkins. This would be fun to share with a class getting ready to go on a pumpkin patch field trip or just as a way to practice counting.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Children's Fiction
Grades: 1-3

As a math person, I loved this book! I think it is a neat way to expose children to numbers and different combinations of numbers (including multiplication and division). It also brought in a little bit of science at the end of the story. Overall, I liked this book! It was a neat way to bring math and numbers into a classroom.

[Beckie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun counting book that takes place at a pumpkin patch. Great Halloween book.

[Holly Thompson-Small · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for fall that incorporates in math, counting, shapes and rhyming. Fun to read aloud and then discuss.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fall-themed counting picture book in rhyme.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little wordy for young readers but cute pictures. Good word numbers.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations were nice but at times felt too busy to comfortably follow along

[Chloe Litman]

A great book about counting and fall. This is an educational book in so many ways and I will for sure read this to my students for a math/ fall activity.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming story about a class field trip to a pumpkin patch. Each page focuses on a number counting down from 20. The number appears in the corner on a pumpkin and the word for the number is orange and bold to draw attention to it in text. Pictures are bright and detailed and invites readers to count the objects on each page. Kids represent a full range of skin tones. The insides of the front and back covers contain pumpkin facts.

What I liked most about this book was all of the opportunities for readers to actively participate in reading this book by counting items on each page. I think teachers will find this book useful for fall, especially if their class will be visiting a pumpkin patch for a field trip or studying a unit on pumpkins in a preschool.

[Karen Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Pumpkin Countdown" by Holub is a good read for fall. The book starts at 20 and counts backwards to 0 which adds rigor to the information the book can share. The book has many facts about pumpkins on the front and the back cover, incorporates math in the body of the book and is written in a fun rhythmic pattern that appeals to kids. The illustrations are colorful and full of detail. The text not only contains facts about pumpkins but talks about color, the growing cycle of a pumpkin and talks a little about bees and how the pollination process helps to create pumpkins. Another plus the book offers is that the children in the book are from many ethnicities so children can see themselves in the book and internalize the book easier.

[Courtney Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cute children's picture book is about a fun field trip to the pumpkin patch. It reminded me a lot of going to Wheeler Farm during fall to see the animals, go on a tractor ride, make your way through a maze, and pick a pumpkin from the patch. Also, this is a great book to practice your counting.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always nice to have a new book about pumpkins and visiting the pumpkin patch. This book is very interactive and gives more information about pumpkins, or rather, varieties of pumpkins than I have seen in a picture book. And it is an entertaining yet informative picture book!

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Miss Blue's class visits Farmer Mixenmatch's Pumpkin Patch, the students find many ways to have fun, and a lot of things to count.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

brief mention halloween

[Connie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Children count things on their way to the pumpkin patch.

[Cassi Dick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for young readers showing them how to count and it incorporates rhyming as a class full of studentes go to a pumkin patch.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not a pleasant read for me. It's always in the form of "xxxxx," Says so-and-so. My son can't get enough of it, though, so I suppose that's the important thing.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is just too much going on here with the counting and rhyming.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a mess.

[Ck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about Autumn and picking pumpkins. I really liked the counting and numbers.

[Sharla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for Heartland School.

[Wendy Garland · Rating 1 out of 5]

The countdown is very contrived. Try other pumpkin books for a seasonal read.