Little Pumpkin: A First Halloween Story

Baby-Toddler–In this spooky installment of the “You Are the Light” series, Little Pumpkin and Big Pumpkin welcome a cast of nighttime forest animals to the annual Halloween Ball. Under the moonlit night sky, Cat, Owl, Spider, and others tenderly express their love for Little Pumpkin using a repeating rhyme scheme: “You are the light that sparkles bright,/ when all around is darkest night./ Everyone gathers to see the sight./ Little Pumpkin, we love you!” Kalindi’s adorable stylized illustrations are clear and boldly colored, with the predictable combination of orange pumpkins against a purple background. However, there is not significant variation in the layout from spread to spread, which may cause readers to lose interest. The overall presentation is quite similar to the “You’re My Little” board books, but, unfortunately, Edwards’s book cannot compete with the spell of that series. Still, young readers and grown-ups who enjoy those books will want to try this one out.