My son loves Halloween and I love pumpkin spice, so pumpkin stories are a natural fit for us! We own a few of these and have checked out the rest from the library. Check your library for these pumpkin books too! It was hard to narrow our choices down to a dozen, but I didn’t want this post to be too long 🙂 We hope you and your preschooler will enjoy these pumpkin books as much as we do!
1.Splat the Cat and the Pumpkin-Picking Plan by Catherine Hapka–
Splat is a good-intentioned, lovable kitten who finds himself searching for the perfect pumpkin for his mom. He and his mouse friend, Seymour, scour the pumpkin patch, but none of the pumpkins are quite right until Splat finds a gigantic, round orange pumpkin! How is Splat going to get this huge pumpkin home? Well he’s going to roll it all the way home by running on top of it, of course!!! Your preschooler will love Splat’s runaway, rolling pumpkin and sympathize with his quest for the perfect pumpkin.
2.Christopher Pumpkin by Sue Hendra–
Christopher Pumpkin is the cutest pumpkin! Created by a witch to help get ready for a scary party, Christopher Pumpkin struggles to do anything the way witch wants. Christopher P. likes pink and sparkles and unicorns, not scary, spooky stuff. The witch gives him one more chance to do something scary or else she’s going to cook him. Will Christopher be able to turn his sparkly, cutesy decorating style into something scary? Check this one out from your library and find out! Told in a rhyming style, with bold, bright illustrations, preschoolers will love reading this one over-and-over again!
3.Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills–
I adore Duck and Goose. They have the best friendship and such sweet adventures together. In this short, sparsely worded story, Duck and Goose go looking for a pumpkin in very unusual places. Your preschooler will giggle as they look for a pumpkin in a lake and on top of a tree stump. Fortunately, their friend, Thistle, comes along and tells them about the pumpkin patch 🙂 (non-holiday story)
4.Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White–
This story is about a woman who HATES pumpkins! She won’t even look at them. So when a truck accidently spills pumpkins in her yard, she does everything she can think of to keep them from growing. The pumpkins, however, thrive in her yard. When fall comes, she finds that she has too many pumpkins! The woman devises a great plan to get rid of the pumpkins and along the way, ends up making new friends with her community 🙂 This sweet story is perfect for fall / Halloween and a heartwarming display of the joy of sharing and connecting with others.
5.The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis–
In this funny story, siblings Buck, Billy, and Lil, go up a hill search of a big pumpkin. The one they find is gigantic and soon, they have it rolling down the hill and destroying everything in its path. The family members below are too intrigued by dreaming of eating eat it to be concerned about the damage its causing. It finally comes to a stop and Granny turns this gigantic pumpkin into a whole bunch of yummy pumpkin foods for a Halloween feast.
6.Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper–
Duck, Cat, and Squirrel and three good friends who like to make pumpkin soup together. Everyone has a specific job to do. One day, Duck decides he wants to switch jobs, which leads to a fight among the friends. Duck leaves in a huff. Soon Cat and Squirrel go in search of their friend. Will Duck want to come back and make soup with them? Kids will love Cooper’s illustrations and enjoy going on the fall journey with these characters. The book also includes a recipe for pumpkin soup that you and your kiddo can make together! (non-holiday story)
7.The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin by Stan and Jan Berenstain–
I loved the Berenstain Bears when I was a kid and I’m excited the their books are still available so I can share them with my son! In this Thanksgiving-themed story, the Berenstain Bears are entering the pumpkin contest. Of course the cubs and Papa really want to win first prize! Mama Bear gently tries to teach Papa and the cubs about the true meaning of Thanksgiving, but the bears are too consumed with the idea of winning to listen. When the family doesn’t win first prize, the Bears begin to understand the true meaning of Thanksgiving and being thankful for what they do have.
8.The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll–
This is the story of two little mice who unknowingly fall in love with the same pumpkin! One wants to make the biggest Jack-o-lantern and the other wants to win the town’s biggest pumpkin prize. When they realize that they have both picked the same pumpkin, the mice work together to help it grow.
9.A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster by Amy Young —
Lucy and Sparkle have fun doing autumn things together. They visit a pumpkin patch, explore a corn maze, and play games. Things get a little too spooky for Sparkle, who is afraid of a pumpkin monster. Lucy, who enjoys being scared, learns that not everyone likes to be a little scared. This is a sweet story about two friends who learn to respect one another’s feelings. Plus it ends with an awesome rainbow from Sparkle’s magic horn and yummy treats for the friends to enjoy together.
10.Pumkpin Trouble by Jan Thomas–
This short book will bring out the giggles as farmyard friends run from the pumpkin monster! Wait a minute, did that pumpkin just quack? Slapstick comedy, bright illustrations, and a confused duck make this book a preschool winner 🙂
11.Pete the Cat: the Five Little Pumpkins by James Dean–
Preschoolers’ favorite cat, Pete the Cat, brings the pumpkin finger rhyme to bedtime in this fun book. Count along with these cool, rhyming pumpkins sitting on a gate. Kids will love the pumpkins’ costumes and the fantastic Halloween illustrations!
12.The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiane–
The Disney Jr. Halloween movie started as a book! This is a sweet story about a square pumpkin who just doesn’t seem to fit in the with round pumpkins in the patch. The round pumpkins make fun of Spookley for looking different. But one Halloween, a storm starts blowing the round pumpkins all over the place! Oh no, there is a hole in the fence. Will they roll right out into the bay? It’s up to Spookley, the square pumpkin to save the day. Preschoolers will enjoy this rhyming story and will be keeping an eye out for a square pumpkin next time you go to a pumpkin patch.
More Books!
I hope you and your preschooler enjoy these pumpkin books! There are so many pumpkin books available that we love, and we hard a hard time narrowing down our choices for this list.
Looking for more great stories to read together? Check out my FALL favorites, ZOMBIE book recommendations, 12 MONSTER Stories post, and my GHOST Stories for preschoolers.
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Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and more Pumpkins!
Make Pumpkin Fizz —
Incorporate fun, seasonal STEM activities into your preschooler’s education with this fun, fall-themed science experiment.
Pumpkin Find the Differences—
It’s time to put your observation skills to work! Can you find 5 differences between these 2 pumpkin scenes?
Pumpkin Handprint Craft —
I love handprint crafts! They preserve your little one’s prints and you get to look back at them and ooh and ahh over how little and cute they were 🙂
Five Little Pumpkins Finger Rhyme–
