Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

Appropriately for All Hallow's Eve, one of the season's holiday standouts is a posthumous publication. The late great Brown (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Goodnight Moon) tells the story of a "fat little, round little, yellow little pumpkin [who] began to think he was a very fierce vegetable." The pumpkin fantasizes about being as frightening as a scarecrow, and when three children carve him a "zigzag grin," he gets his wish: "Ho, ho, ho!/ He, he, he!/ Mice will run/ when they see me." Egielski's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Jazper) nostalgic pictures conjure up warm gold-and-sepia country fields, and he suspensefully keeps the pumpkin's face hidden until a wordless double spread reveals its candlelit glory. A polished presentation. Ages 3-6. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Aug.)

ALA Booklist (Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2003)

In this previously unpublished story by Brown, a small green pumpkin grows into a fat little, round little, yellow little pumpkin who yearns to frighten away field mice, as the nearby scarecrow does. At the first frost, the pumpkin turns orange. Then, after being picked, hollowed out, and carved into a jack-o-lantern, he gets his wish. Egielski's artwork features subtle shadings and interesting juxtapositions of colors. The large-scale, wordless spread showing the jack-o-lantern's face is a winner, and throughout the book, the figures of the field mice are very expressively created. The story rolls along smoothly with a clear plot line and some nice phrasing. Although the text notes that the pumpkin looks ferocious in the end, this not-so-scary picture book would make a good classroom read-aloud choice for young children who like the idea of fright better than actually being frightened.

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

A pumpkin dreams of being as frightening as a scarecrow or the hot sun and gets his wish when children carve him into a jack-o'-lantern. The seasonal story has rhythmic language--"Ho, ho, ho! / He, he, he! / Mice will run / when they see me!"--and just enough scariness to appeal to preschoolers. Egielski's illustrations get darker as the story proceeds and end with mice running away from the jack-o'-lantern with the "zigzag grin."

Kirkus Reviews

In a previously unpublished tale from Brown (whose newly unearthed early work is filling the shelves lately), a "fat little, round little, yellow little pumpkin" enviously regards a one-eyed scarecrow while growing into a "fiery orange-yellow pumpkin. The color of the sun"—whereupon three children carry it off to make it into a jack-o-lantern. Along with a trio of field mice, children can follow the pumpkin's development as seasons change in Egielski's ground-level scenes, then jump in surprise at coming face-to-face, in a spread-filling close-up, with a "terrific, terrible pumpkin," bearing a new zigzag grin: "Ho, ho, ho! / He, he, he! / Mice will run / when they see me!" The mice do indeed scamper off, but young audiences are more likely to stay put, ready for a repeat encounter with this long-buried episode. (Picture book. 5-7)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3-In melodic, flowing prose, readers are introduced to a "fat little, round little, yellow little pumpkin in a great big field." Here the artist paints a huge, searing white sun rising behind the yellow-green pumpkin to contrast beautifully with him and make his eventual growth into a big, orange pumpkin vivid and dramatic. This little pumpkin dreams of making a "fierce, ferocious gobble-gobble face" to scare away the field mice "like the scarecrow does." The intense sun-gold skies match the mood here wonderfully. Somber grays and taupes on the next several pages provide visual contrast and slow down the pace so that children can take in more of the details. The little pumpkin feels a "crisp tingle that tickled [his] sides." After three children take him home and use a small saw knife to make his mouth "zigzag up and zigzag down," he says, "Ho, ho, ho!/He, he, he!/Mice will run/when they see me." The youngsters dance gleefully about him singing a song to the "terrific, terrible pumpkin." With Brown's rhythmic text and patterned language and Egielski's illustrations highlighting the moods she evokes, this title is a real treat for Halloween storytimes. Also, it's a surefire hit for creative drama activities because of all the action and emotion in the story.-James K. Irwin, Poplar Creek Main Library, Steamwood, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.