A review by backonthealex
Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht

4.0

It seems kids can't wait for Halloween and have been known to start thinking about costumes as early as September. It's just one of those high-anticipation holidays that is seeped in tradition, and one of those is a family trip into the country to pick out the perfect pumpkins to transform into a Jack-o-Lantern. At home, a space is cleared in the garage for the actual carving, just the right tools are choses, and friends are invited to come and carve their pumpkins, too. Carving is followed by decorating the house inside and out, and finally, dressed in costumes, it's time to light the Jack-o-Lantern: "its red-hot eyes/ will gaze/ and flicker/ Its fiery grin/will blaze and snicker,/to guard your house/while you have fun." Just like its Christmas predecessor, Pick a Pine Tree, this is also told in a four stanza rhyme describing each step taken to end up with a wonderful Jack-o-Lantern, and ending with a two page spread of decorated houses and costumed children and adults trick-or-treating with plenty of brightly lit pumpkins all around and a witch on her broom in the moonlight. Jarvis' pencil, chalk, and paint illustrations are done in a warm autumnal palette of oranges, reds, and yellows, and include diverse character throughout. This is a nice companion to Pick a Pine Tree and I suspect both will become favorites especially given the pleasing rhyme.