ALA Booklist (Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2001)

Peter the little tiger is looking for the perfect pumpkin. He doesn't want a lumpy, bumpy pumpkin or a stumpy, grumpy pumpkin; he's looking for a showy, glowy pumpkin. The mystery is why he wants one: he's not a pumpkin eater; he doesn't want it for pumpkin pickles, salad, or pie. The answer comes when Peter finally finds one that's just right--and with his dad's help, he carves the perfect jack-o-lantern. Toddlers will relish the bouncy, rhyming stanzas and silly wordplay, which help make this a great, nonspooky Halloween storytime choice. The subtly textured computer-generated art has solid child appeal, thanks to a vibrant primary-color palette and simply depicted, easily recognizable objects' enhanced with bold black outlines. Peter is a cute, sweet-faced cartoonlike character, as are his animal friends, who show the fruits of their labors at book's end.

Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2003)

A girl and her dog don life jackets and set out in a canoe. The wildlife takes an interest in this "one-dog canoe," each animal after the next asking, "Can I come, too?" One beaver, loon, wolf, bear, and moose later, the canoe is still afloat--until a frog hops aboard. Casanova's spunky narrator and rhythmic rhyming text and Hoyt's personality-rich characterizations create what's sure to be a read-aloud favorite.

Kirkus Reviews

<p>Marbles-in-your-mouth wordplay fun as a tiger cub searches for a prime pumpkin specimen. Set to color-saturated artwork, this piece of simple yet exuberant verse follows Peter as he selects from pumpkins lumpy and bumpy, stumpy and grumpy. And pray, "Not some squat, lopsided pumpkin, / but a glossy lot of pumpkin." Having scoured the expressionistic and very orange landscapes and located his perfect pumpkin, Peter is tempted to turn the beauty into "Pumpkin pudding? / Pumpkin fry? / Pumpkin salad? / Pumpkin stew? / What is Peter going to do?" What he does is shuffle home with the pumpkin and with the help of his father carve it into a glorious jack-'o-lantern. There is a soothing flow to this story as Peter moves from the hunt for the perfect pumpkina"endowed with the romantic, otherworld qualities of a quest through lambent and surreal scenery, where even the trees look like big, round pumpkinsa"to that most curious of symbols, the jack-'o-lantern, whose associations can be plumbed to a fare-thee-well. (Picture book. 3-6)</p>

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Appealing wordplay and autumnal colors lend warmth to this tiger tale. Peter, an orange cub with an upturned grin, wouldn't pick just any pumpkin: "Not a stumpy, grumpy pumpkin,/ but a sunny, sumptuous pumpkin." He chooses a bounteous specimen, carves it and wins a contest, for "Perfect pumpkins really do/ make perfect jack-o-lanterns, too." Serfozo's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Who Said Red?) stumbly, bubbly tongue-twisters complement Petrone's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Ducks in the Muck) adroit digital illustrations, which mimic paint swooshes of violet, harvest gold and orange. Peter is a charmer. Ages 3-6. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)

School Library Journal (Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2001)

PreS-Gr 2 One of the most refreshing aspects of this book is that it provides a wonderful selection for storyhours that isn't full of the typical Halloween imagery. There are no costumes, ghosts, or witches, and the word "Halloween" is not even mentioned in the text itself. Serfozo tackles a subject that has been covered many times beforeselecting a pumpkin and turning it into a jack-o'-lantern. However, this title is far from old and stale. Peter, a boldly rendered and engaging tiger cub, is on the hunt for the perfect "sunny, sumptuous pumpkin." He does not want a "lumpy, bumpy pumpkin" or a "stumpy, grumpy pumpkin" or "some squat, lopsided pumpkin,/but a glossy lot of pumpkin." Finding one that meets his standards, he and his father carve "a simply dimply, dumply face." The large, vibrant illustrations are a perfect match for this short rhyming story. A quick, engaging read-aloud that will be enjoyed at many fall programs. Piper L. Nyman, Fairfield/Suisun Community Library, Fairfield, CA