Pumpkin Cat

by Ann Turner, Amy June Bates (Illustrator)

On a stormy night in October, a ginger cat finds refuge in the "Returned Books" bin of the local library. Rescued by two kind librarians, Pumpkin Cat makes a home for herself in the large children's room. But the wooden sheep and the sock monkey never talk, and once the librarians leave for the day, Pumpkin Cat is lonely. Searching for what is missing, she makes a new friend in a neighborhood girl and receives a Halloween gift that fills her heart. Ann Turner's tender story, paired with Amy June Bates's cozy illustrations, explores the idea that sometimes for a home to be found, a home must be given. Ann Turner is the author of several books for children, including Red Flower Goes West, illustrated by Dennis Nolan. She lives with her family in Williamsburg, Massachusetts.

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Cats, Childrens, Holiday, Animals, Books About Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Ann Turner, also known and published as Ann Warren Turner, is a children's author and a poet.
Ann Turner wrote her first story when she was eight years old. It was about a dragon and a dwarf named Puckity. She still uses that story when she talks to students about writing, to show them that they too have stories worth telling.
Turner has always loved to write, but at first she was afraid she couldn't make a living doing it. So she trained to be a teacher instead. After a year of teaching, however, she decided she would rather write books than talk about them in school.
Turner's first children's book was about vultures and was illustrated by her mother. She has written more than 40 books since then, most of them historical picture books. She likes to think of a character in a specific time and place in American history and then tell a story about that character so that readers today can know what it was like to live long ago.
Ann Turner says that stories choose her, rather than the other way around: "I often feel as if I am walking along quietly, minding my own business, when a story creeps up behind me and taps me on the shoulder. 'Tell me, show me, write me!' it whispers in my ear. And if I don't tell that story, it wakes me up in the morning, shakes me out of my favorite afternoon nap, and insists upon being told."

(from: http://www.eduplace.com/kids/tnc/mtai...)

Reviews

[Tina Haigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aw. This was such a sweet book. I really enjoyed this book. I wish my library had cats. Snuggling up with an animal and reading is the best. I liked the writing style, the story, and the art was pretty and colorful. I also liked how inclusive the art was and the characters weren't all white. I was pleased to see that. All in all a great book and I would recommend this for ages 8 to 12 😊

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet! Libraries and kitty-cats--what could be better!?

[Sharon Huether · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big orange cat got lost in a storm and ended up at the library. No one was there at night, but the next day the librarian brought the cat inside. It was close to Halloween so the cat was called Pumpkin Cat. He was lonely at night when no one was there. The next day someone left a basket at the door with a little black kitten in it. Now Pumpkin Cat had someone to cuddle with at night.

Beautifully illustrated.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an adorable story with delightful illustrations!
Plus, there being an orange kitty and a black kitty helped to endear it to me, since those are the colored kitties of ours:>

It's a tale of a lost kitty who finds a home, friends, and other characters to love - all at a library. :)

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borne along by a powerful flood of water one stormy night, a homeless marmalade cat finds herself deposited in front of a dark building (a library!), where she finds shelter in a box left on the front steps. In the morning she is discovered by Lisa and Rochelle, the two librarians, and is quickly adopted as the library's cat. But although she now has a comfortable, safe home, Pumpkin Cat - so named because of her color, and because of the autumn season in which she was found - longs for something else: a companion. The children who come to the library for story-hour provide plenty of affection, but Pumpkin Cat is still lonely during the dark, quiet nights. And then, the day after Halloween, another box is discovered in front of the library...

A heartwarming story of a homeless feline who finds her place in the world, and also gains a surrogate child/companion, Pumpkin Cat has everything needed - an adorable feline heroine! the library as ultimate place of refuge! an autumn setting, with Halloween playing a role! a poignant story with a happy ending! - to make it a success in my book. Suitable as a sweet (rather than scary) Halloween tale, and as an "orphaned animal finds home" story, it pairs an engaging story with cute-as-a-button illustrations. I found myself, while reading, itching to pet Pumpkin Cat! Does anything else really need to be said?!?

[Ham · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really really didn't want to finish this book.
It was probably the most poorly written, plotless, pointless picture book I've come across in a while.
Sadly my kids forced me to finish it.
Every page was torture. I've hidden the book so this will never happen again.

[Set · Rating 1 out of 5]

How can you go wrong with an autumn picture book? This is a booooring, plotless, rhymless and unaesthetic book; don't be fooled by the cute cover.

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story feels a little wandering, but listen - it's a diverse picture book about a big orange cat that gets adopted by librarians on Halloween. Of course I liked it.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet story about how a lost cat finds a home around Halloween. Although it was a bit word-heavy, my four-year-old son still enjoyed the story and was able to pay attention through the end.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cute but please don't drop cats off at the library, we wouldn't be allowed to keep them :(

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the cover, I thought the book would be really trite and boring. But it was cute. How can you not love a book that takes place at a library! The pictures are sweet. I love the small-town library. I miss my own from my childhood. And the book almost made me want to have such a well-behaved cat as well. But I'm not a cat person. No matter how cute the drawings. This just might work for Book Time, especially as a contrast to all the gruesome and grotesqeue that I'm finding.

[Kate McCartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book before becoming a librarian and thought this is the library I wanted to work in!

Pumpkin Cat finds a warm, safe place to sleep during a terrible storm. Her safe place turns out to be a library book drop box. The two librarians who find her decide she will be a nice addition to the collection. The kids love her. But Pumpkin cat feels like she something is missing. Beautiful watercolors give a sense of the autumn season and small library setting.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is all over the place, and takes on too much, it's about a lost cat, a library, halloween, and friendship. There was nothing special or clever about this book at all, there was pretty much no point. Even the names of the cats lack in creativity, pumpkin cat and halloween cat? really? lame. boring.

[Jenifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of Print. I thought it would be more Halloweeny, but was delighted that it really was about companionship. Made me feel good to read it. The pictures were fabulous!

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lord, I love this book! It is so cute! :)
Awwww...I can't think of a better Halloween picture book unless it's Boris and Bella!

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025 Reading: read aloud by dad

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

An orange cat crawls into a library book drop to escape a rainstorm. The librarians name her Pumpkin Cat and decide she can live in the library. But something's missing... the library is far too lonely to be a real home.
I love this one. I'm afraid it's too long for my storytime groups, but cats, libraries, and Halloween are some of my very favorite things and here they all are together. I will definitely recommend this title to people now that I know about it.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cat washed away by a storm ends up in a return book box at the public library. The librarians take her in and name her Pumpkin Cat. Though it is warm, dry and has food, Pumpkin Cat feels there is something missing. How can she make friends when people come and go so much. The Halloween party is just too much for her. But when someone leaves a kitten at the library, Pumpkin realizes what has been missing in her life.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are just beautiful in this. The story is sweet, but told with too many words for my little audience, so I shorten the telling. Points for the cat named Pumpkin actually being orange. (Watch and learn, author of The Little Kitten.) Will look for more books from the illustrator.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming story of a cat who is adopted by some librarians and becomes a library mascot just in time for Halloween. It includes a diverse cast of humans and examples of old-timey Halloween party games (some I never have heard of before--hunting for coins in sawdust?) as well as a lesson in being kind to animals. I found myself wishing that this story included information on some of the real-life library cats though!

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute and fluffy story about cats and a library. Incredibly adorable, mostly due to the illustrations. It has a kind of surprising beginning, with a cat caught in a storm, no indication of where she came from or why she doesn't have a home (especially since she has a sense of what should be in a home later). Nothing wrong with that, it just seems different from other books I've read.

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cat finds refuge in a library on a stormy night in October. The librarians welcome the cat and the cat makes herself at home in the children's room, but the cat is lonely when the library is empty. A sweet story that takes place around Halloween. Not spooky, just heartwarming. Lovely illustrations.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a random find on the library shelf, and boy was I happy to find it! This picture book is pretty much custom-cut for a certain stamp of millennial women: combining cats, Halloween, and two super cool librarians into one cozy package. Turner's prose is delightfully lyrical and the illustrations are expressive. This will be one I turn to again and again this time of year.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Cats + libraries + Halloween are three of my favorite things! The illustrations in this book were adorable. Unfortunately, the story was a bit dull. But it gets points for diverse characters! (The two female librarians appeared to be black and white, and the little girl looked Asian.).

Recommended for kids who love kitties.

Just don’t expect a spooky story!

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little cat falls in a ditch and into the river, she makes it out. But she was all wet and hungry, she dropped into the Library Book drop and slept. Two nice Librarians find her, they make her a bed and feed. But the cat was missing something. Read this sweet book and find out what she was missing.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet story about home and family/friendship

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too texty for storytime, but I love any story about a cat, a library, and halloween!

[Marg Corjay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story. Beautifully detailed illustrations. Ethnically diverse characters. Whats not to love about cats and librarians.

[Emily Bily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our house didn't become a home until we snatched our own Halloween Cat either <3

[Shay Vande · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libraries, cats, and Halloween! What's not to like?