Jerry Smath (1933–2019)

I'm glad I kept this on my list until I found a new library to join. It's one of those magically nostalgic classics, a 'sleeper' or 'cult' favorite, if you will. Kids, including child me, get a true kick, and feel the wonder of being able to empathize with the old lady, the pet salesman, and the critters too. There are also some neat details in the pictures; for example I love the smaller critters in bed, and the overalls the grandma changes into to cut wood. If you actually have kids or show more grandkids, you might actually want to buy this. If you don't, get it from your library, and if they don't have it, ask them to buy it. (Refer them to GR reviews to persuade them!) Btw, it's also Vegan-friendly. I will consider more by the author. show less

"Pumpkins here, pumpkins there, I see pumpkins everywhere! / Pumpkins, pumpkins, they come in all sizes. / I like pumpkins, they're full of surprises!" So begins this rhyming seasonal tale from author/illustrator Jerry Smath. The narrative describes different kinds of pumpkins, and the various ways they can be used, particularly at Halloween. The book closes with a selection of pumpkin-themed games and puzzles...

I enjoyed Smath's Wee Witches' Halloween—the only other book I have read from show more this creator—so I picked up I Like Pumpkins with every expectation of pleasure. I was not disappointed, finding the rhyming text a lot of fun to read and the accompanying artwork cute and appealing. Unsurprisingly, given my fondness for witches, my favorite scene was the one in which the witches fly across the sky, with jack-o-lanterns guiding their way. Recommended to younger picture book audiences at Halloween. show less

This is an unnecessary but not undiverting board book with pictures to go along with the wheels on the bus, which of course your baby knows by heart, allowing her to focus on connecting words and images and concepts. I guess? I just know we have fun singing it. And I like how British all the people look in it and trying to put my finger on exactly what makes them look British. And I don't know what value Raffi adds with his fuckin' mug on the cover. And I laugh every time I get to the end show more and see the sheet music and it says "The Wheels on the Bus (traditional)" (only the best of the many traditional bus ballads passed down to us from the bards of the north country). show less

"On Halloween wee witches hatch / from pumpkins in the this pumpkin patch," begins Jerry Smath's engaging little holiday tale, in which four wee witches attend Scaring School, before embarking upon a quest to frighten some children. Unfortunately for them, their targets - the children at a fair, the marchers in a Halloween parade, some trick-or-treaters - prove more difficult to scare than they anticipated...

With a simple rhyming text - no more than a half sentence per page - and cute show more illustrations in a cartoonish style, The Wee Witches Halloween is a book that will appeal to the youngest picture-book audience, who will appreciate its gentle humor and appealing visuals (it has green witches, after all!). show less