Kids BooksNo. 5033 · The 2026 edition
I Like Pumpkins
Discover why pumpkins are the ultimate Halloween icon, from carving to decorating.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at en.wikipedia.org.
A playful exploration of pumpkins and their role in Halloween fun, including carving, decorating, and festive activities.
About this
This Wikipedia article covers I Like Pumpkins, a 2003 Halloween-oriented children's picture book written and illustrated by Jerry Smath and published by Scholastic. It lays out the book's publication facts and summarizes its rhyming story about a little girl who adores pumpkins. The page also describes the pumpkin-themed games and puzzles bundled at the back of the book and notes how elementary schools have used the title in class.
The list
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I Like Pumpkins 2003
Children's picture book by Jerry Smath, published by Scholastic; rhyming story about a girl who loves pumpkins, plus five pages of pumpkin games and puzzles.
Facts from the original
- I Like Pumpkins was written and illustrated by children's book author Jerry Smath.
- It is an illustrated book for young children in which a young girl vividly describes her fondness for pumpkins at Halloween.
- The book is written in rhyming text and includes five pages of pumpkin-related games and puzzles.
- The book has been used in elementary classrooms as both a class reading and a supplementary resource.
- Schools have used the book as part of interdisciplinary units on pumpkins, which may incorporate planting and growing pumpkin plants, arts and crafts activities related to pumpkins, or basic mathematics activities using pumpkins as units for counting or grouping.
- The book was released in the fall of 2003, coinciding with the celebration of Halloween.
- It was published by Scholastic, Incorporated.
- Reviewers have suggested that the book may be used by parents or teachers as an introduction to discussion about pumpkins or Halloween.
- The main character is a little girl who loves pumpkins.
- She describes many uses of pumpkins she appreciates, including plastic pumpkins, pumpkins used to hold candy, jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin seeds, and her favorite, pumpkin pie.
- The illustrations show the girl and her mother traveling by car to a pumpkin patch, picking out a pumpkin, and then returning home.
- Along the way they see strange sights, including Frankenstein and his pet purple alligator, who are returning home with their own respective pumpkins.
- One image shows a fantasy version of the girl's bedroom decorated with a pumpkin theme, including a pumpkin-themed headboard for her bed and an alarm clock in the shape of a pumpkin.
- The book ends with a series of pumpkin-themed puzzles asking readers to identify a pumpkin that is different from the others, count which of a set of farmers has the most pumpkins, locate hidden pumpkins in a parade scene, and identify a pumpkin that looks like the little obese monkey in the book.
- The article's See also section lists Bibliography of Halloween.
From the original
I Like Pumpkins is an illustrated picture book for young children, both written and drawn by children's author Jerry Smath. In rhyming text, a young girl enthusiastically describes everything she loves about pumpkins at Halloween, from plastic pumpkins and candy-holding pumpkins to jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin seeds, and her very favorite, pumpkin pie. The artwork follows her and her mother as they drive to a pumpkin patch, choose a pumpkin, and head home, encountering odd sights along the way such as Frankenstein and his purple pet alligator carrying their own pumpkins. A fantasy spread shows the girl's bedroom done up in pumpkin style, complete with a pumpkin-shaped headboard and a pumpkin alarm clock. The book closes with five pages of pumpkin-related games and puzzles. Released in fall 2003 to coincide with Halloween and published by Scholastic, Inc., the book has been used in elementary classrooms as a class read and as a supplementary resource, including within interdisciplinary pumpkin units covering planting and growing, pumpkin arts and crafts, and basic math counting or grouping with pumpkins. Reviewers have suggested parents or teachers could use it to open discussion about pumpkins or Halloween.
