Picture books are an amazing way to learn about the world and can be an invaluable tool for introducing children to scientific skills and concepts. This list of picture books on pumpkins includes 12 titles that introduce pumpkins, pumpkin life cycles, and scientific studies that use pumpkins and their parts. 

By reading some of these books to your students you are supplementing your science instruction with children’s literature. This technique can help generate interest and motivation, provide context, encourage communication, and connect science information in real-world context (Mahzoon-Hagheghi, 2018, 41). Read this list of picture books on pumpkins to get some amazing titles to develop scientific skills in your students!

Picture Books On Pumpkins

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell

Reading age: Preschool – 3rd grade (4-8 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-ESS2-1, 3-ESS2-1

Anne Rockwell shares harvest time with young readers as she walks them through a family’s fall tradition of picking apples and pumpkins. A young girl, her mother, and her father go to a farm where they pick a bushel of apples and then select a pumpkin from the field. They bring the crops home and carve the pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern that they set out for Halloween night along with passing out the apples to trick or treaters. This could be a good introduction to the season and what foods are available to pick around Halloween time.

Pick a Circle, Gather Squares: A Fall Harvest of Shapes by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky

Reading age: Preschool – 3rd grade (3-9 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-ESS2-1, 3-ESS2-1

Felicia Sanzari Chernesky makes her fictional pumpkin patch interactive as she asks her readers to look for shapes in the fall pictures. She introduces different aspects of pumpkin patches including apples and pumpkins (circles), a bale of hay and a cube of straw (squares), squash and eggs (ovals), a box of gourds and barn doors (rectangles), jack-o-lantern eyes (diamonds), honeycombs and chicken wire (hexagons), pieces of pie (triangles), and more. The illustrations and the rhyming words make this book a great read for early childhood learners that are working on their shapes and seasons.

The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons

Reading age: 1st grade – 3rd grade (6-9 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-1, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS2-2, 3-LS1-1, 3-ESS2-1, 4-LS1-1

Gail Gibbons covers everything pumpkins in this picture books on pumpkins. She begins with a description of how farmers plant seeds in the spring when the sun warms the soil. She explains how a pumpkin seed holds the new plant and what the plants need to grow into pumpkins. Gibbons describes the function of the leaves, the vines, the flowers, and the fruit as a part of the plant and how its life cycle develops overtime. The book ends with descriptions of holidays that use pumpkins including Thanksgiving and Halloween.

Picture Books About Pumpkin Life Cycle

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum

Reading age: Preschool – Kindergarten (3-6 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS2-2, 3-LS1-1, 4-LS1-1

Jill Esbaum shares the life cycle of pumpkin plants through a non-fiction book with real pictures. The book begins with seeds being planted and getting the things they need to grow including warm earth, light, and water. Pollination is addressed in relation to the flowers and fruits grow after pollination occurs. Esbaum introduces the different colors and shapes that pumpkins can be and how they are a type of squash. She ends the book with different ways that pumpkins can be used as food including seed snacks or made into breads, desserts, and soups.

Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington

Reading age: Preschool – 3rd (4-8 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-ESS2-1, 2-LS2-2, 3-LS1-1, 3-ESS2-1

Jeanne Titherington shares the life cycle of a pumpkin plant in this simple but elegant story on the picture books on pumpkins list. The main character Jamie plants a seed which grows into a sprout, then into a plant, then grows a flower, and then a pumpkin. At the end of the story, Jamie carves the pumpkin and saves seeds to plant again in the spring. A simple but enjoyable way to introduce plant life cycles during the fall season.

From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer

Reading age: Preschool – 3rd grade (3-9 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-1, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS2-2, 3-LS1-1, 3-ESS2-1, 4-LS1-1

Wendy Pfeffer describes the life cycle of pumpkin plants beginning with the planting of pumpkin seeds in the spring. The seeds crack open and sprouts and roots grow out and make their way into the soil to collect water or toward the surface to collect sunlight. Pfeffer describes photosynthesis, the plants’ needs, and how the making of food is a part of the pumpkin life cycle. She describes the flowers and how they close during the day but open up for pollinators during cool nights and early mornings. She ends her story with a description of the changing seasons and how the fruits change from green to orange to be harvested for different uses.

Pumpkin Circle by George Levenson

Reading age: Kindergarten – 3rd grade (5-9 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-1, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS2-2, 3-LS1-1, 3-ESS2-1, 4-LS1-1

George Levenson uses real photos taken by Shmuel Thaler to share the pumpkin life cycle with his audience. Beginning with the seeds found inside the pumpkin, Levenson describes planting and early growth. He then shares how the plants grow different parts including roots, stems, leaves, vines, and flowers. Levenson shares the needs of the plants and pollination in order for them to grow large and develop pumpkins. He uses rhyme and rhythm to help him tell his story making it fun for early childhood learners. The use of real pictures allowed Thaler to show off the actual size of different parts of the pumpkin plant, making it easier for the reader to relate to.

Let it Grow by Mary Ann Fraser

Reading age: 1st grade – 2nd grade (6-8 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-ESS2-1, 2-LS2-2, 3-LS1-1, 3-ESS2-1

Mary Ann Fraser begins this pumpkin life cycle story with the main character planting a pumpkin seed in a field. Each page spread includes an introduction of a different part of the pumpkin life cycle and how it’s important to the overall growth of the pumpkin plant. First the seed sprouts, then a growing vine, then a flower that gets pollinated, and then a fruit grows. As the main character explains what happens in each stage of the life cycle, a question is posed about what they might do with that stage (e.g. would the main character pick the sprout for a salad?), and the main character usually responds with “I’ll let it grow”. This repetition continues until him and his grandfather harvest the pumpkin to take to fair and carve it for use in the Great Pumpkin Regatta.

Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell

Reading age: Preschool – 3rd grade (3-9 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-ESS2-1, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS2-2, 3-LS1-1, 3-ESS2-1

Will Hubbell introduces the life cycle of a pumpkin in a fun and relatable way. Beginning with a carved pumpkin from Halloween, the main character Tim finds his jack-o-lantern begins to rot and his mother asks him to move it outside. He watches it mold, wrinkle, and flatten as fall comes to a close. The seasons continue and when the winter snows melt, Tim finds his pumpkin is no more than a flat, brown shell which he covers up with soil. A pumpkin plant grows from the rotten shell and Tim tends to the plant until he gets pumpkins that he carves again for Halloween.

Picture Books About Scientific Studies with Pumpkins

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara

Reading age: Preschool – 2nd grade (3-8 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3

Margaret McNamara brings pen to paper to share an interesting science question; how many seeds are in a pumpkin? The students in Mr. Tiffin’s classroom make guesses on how many seeds they think are in a small pumpkin, a medium pumpkin, and a large pumpkin. After making guesses, they spend time pulling the seeds out, separating the innards, and planning on how to count them. The students end up skip-counting the seeds by 2s, 5s, and 10s to find out that the smallest pumpkin had the most seeds. This is an easily replicable experiment to conduct with your students in your classroom this fall.

Mystery Vine: A Pumpkin Surprise by Cathryn Falwell

Reading age: Preschool – 2nd grade (3-8 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-ESS2-1, 2-LS2-2, 3-ESS2-1

Cathryn Falwell introduces seasonality in this garden mystery story. The story focuses on two children that are helping an adult with their garden starting in the spring. They plant seeds and watch them grow into plants including peas, radishes, carrots, and more. But there is a vine that is growing leaves but no fruits. The children spend the summer watching the vine and looking for clues as to what kind of plant it could be. Finally fall arrives and they find out that it’s a pumpkin vine. This book could be a good introduction to looking for clues in the natural world to help your students develop scientific skills such as observation, hypothesizing, and data collection.

Rotten Pumpkin by David Schwartz

Reading age: Preschool – 5th grade (3-11 years)

Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): 5-PS3-1, 5-LS2-1

David Schwartz introduces the role of pumpkins in the food chain in this story with real photographs. Animals introduced in this story that eat the leftover jack-o-lanterns include: mice, squirrels, slugs, flies, black rot, Fusarium rot, bread mold, sow bug, Penicillium, earthworm, yeast, and slime mold. The pumpkin tells of its collapse throughout the story and the soil tells of its role in the growth of plants. Lastly, the seeds tell of their patience as they waited for the pumpkin to decompose and release them into the soil, creating new pumpkin plants. This book could be a good set-up for an experiment on decomposers or the food chain; set out carved pumpkins after Halloween and see how many of the different organisms break down your classroom pumpkins.

In a nutshell

Hopefully after reading this list of instructive picture books on pumpkins you’ve found a wonderful book (or two or three…) to read with your class this fall. Enjoy this wonderful season with chillier weather, the fall harvest, and holidays; it’s sure to be one of your students’ favorite times of the year!

Works Cited

Mahzoon-Hagheghi, M.; Yebra, R.; Johnson, R. (2018). Fostering a Greater Understanding of Science in the Classroom Through Children’s Literature. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 6(1), 41-50. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1183979.pdf

Have amazing children’s books on pumpkins that weren’t listed? Include your favorites in the comments!

Check out this podcast episode for unique ways to teach with books!

Not sure what to do with your pumpkins after Halloween? Check out the article “Pumpkins in November: How to Use Halloween Pumpkins to Teach Students.”

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