Big Pumpkin

I chose Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman and illustrated by S. D. Schindler because its theme is relevant for this time of the month. It has a witch, a ghost, a vampire, a mummy, a bat, and a pumpkin, which are all things kids see and hear about during October for Halloween. The witch plants a pumpkin seed and intends to make pumpkin pie. When the pumpkin grows to be too big to pick up, each character takes a turn trying to pick the pumpkin from the vine. Then they work together to pick it and it comes off and the witch is able to make her pumpkin pie that they all enjoy together.

I think this book would be great to use in a kindergarten or first grade classroom because of the rhyming and repetitive use of lines. It is something that will keep students engaged and I can use it to have the students help me finish a sentence if they catch on. Also, there is big illustrations on each page that depict what the words are describing so it can also be used for independent reading where a student can either read the words or the illustrations and have an understanding of what it is about (RL.1.7). Some standards that I would meet as a teacher in doing this would be to discuss who the author and illustrator are and what each of their jobs consist of (RL.K.6). Also, the students can write and/or draw a picture of an alternate ending or their favorite part of the book (W.K.6).