Hannah Eliot

A diverse range of pumpkins sing about their colors and shapes, as well as the beauty of autumn around them in this cute seasonal board book from author/illustrator team Hannah Eliot and Anna Daviscourt. The rhyming text is modeled on the classic nursery rhyme, I'm a Little Teapot, and can be sung to the same tune...

I requested I'm a Little Pumpkin from my local library by accident, thinking it was a full picture book, rather than a board book. Despite that mistake, as a confirmed lover of show more all things autumn, I found it charming, and wouldn't hesitate to hand it to a baby or toddler at this time of year. The jaunty rhyme reads (and sings) well, and the accompanying artwork is cute and bright, capturing the wonderful colors of this time of year. I was familiar with Eliot already, as her Celebrate the World board book collection, featuring various holidays, was very popular at the children's bookstore I used to manage, but this was my first encounter with Daviscout. show less

I really can't imagine how this book could be improved. I love the illustrations which are delightfully cheery in the best tradition of children's literature, and authentic to both the culture and the time (I was amused by all the phones taking pictures of the festivities!). Many familiar Chinese customs surrounding the New Year are introduced and a brief explanation of their origin is given without implying that people still believe in the ancient stories: most don't even know them, and show more there were some that were new to me. It's a great way to introduce the Lunar New Year to children of any background. For our Chinese-Canadian family it was perfect. I'm going to have to get a second copy so we don't have to keep loaning it back and forth. show less

I think that young students would love this book and the fun animal facts inside. At first I wasn't crazy about the lack of connection between animals, but grew to like it as the book went on, especially for younger students. I do wish that there were some more non-fiction text features and that the book had a reference page of some sort, or shared how the authors learned what they taught us. Overall, an enjoyable book for young students to giggle at and learn some interesting animal facts.

This is a great way to introduce children to a holiday they may not have heard of before and discover more about the world around them.

With 24 pages, this is a sturdy little board book, perfect for small hands. The cover and pages will hold up to small accidents and a bit of roughness. The traditions and reasons for celebrating Dia de los Muertos are explained clearly, while still allowing the excitement the holiday brings to still filter in. The text uses simple enough vocabulary for kids show more to understand, while still allowing some lesser known, cultural words to filter in.

The illustrations are as expected from Jorge Gutierrez—a real treat. He has brought the holiday across in a vibrant, exciting way while still keeping the foundations of the celebration clear. There are many small details in the drawings to make sure children come back and investigate them on their own.

While there are many great things to this book, I'm not sure it's fitting for the board book age group. The text is fairly long for the youngest listeners and the illustrations, while beautiful, don't always depict the situations clear enough for board book audiences to understand. Slightly older listeners/readers would slide into these pages without a problem, but unfortunately, the older age group (who would enjoy this book the most) will most likely not be willing to pick up a board book.

Still, it's a wonderful story which does a terrific job in introducing Dia de los Muertos to kids.

I received a complimentary copy a found it such a wonderful idea and book that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts. show less