Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night - Hardcover

As the leaves turn color, signaling the approach of "pumpkin time," young Jeffrey draws sample jack-o'lantern faces on construction paper in anticipation of the day he will help carve this season's prized decoration. Finally pumpkin day arrives; Jeffrey and his mother drive to the farmers market, cull the mounds of squashes, and select their perfectly round and orange choice. At home that evening, Mom transfers Jeffrey's pumpkin picture onto the real pumpkin and carves its beaming face while the two toast pumpkin seeds and bake the small pie pumpkins Mom brought home. Readers can almost smell the nutty aroma of roasting pumpkins that envelops this warm scene of parent and child interacting in a favorite fall tradition. The three-dimensional illustrations, like Jeffrey's pumpkin faces, appear cut from crayon-colored construction paper, creating a charming childlike quality. Rockwell and Halsey (One Bean [1998]) have caused an engaging picture book to evolve from their celebration of a simple childhood joy. Ellen Mandel