Hooray for October — time for gorgeous autumn leaves, hot apple cider, pumpkins and squashes galore, toffee apples, hayrides, costume parties, and Halloween!

We’re so pleased Patty Toht is back to talk about her newest picture book, Pick a Pumpkin (Candlewick, 2019), which like its companion book, Pick a Pine Tree (2017), is illustrated by British artist Jarvis.

Pick a Pumpkin captures all the joy, anticipation, excitement, community spirit, and rustic beauty of the season as a family happily picks and carves pumpkins before going out to trick-or-treat.

There’s nothing like visiting the pumpkin patch on a crisp fall afternoon and finding just the right globular beauty:

 

 

Pick a pumpkin
from the patch —

tall and lean
or short and fat.

Vivid orange,
ghostly white,
or speckled green
might be just right.

 

After enjoying spicy punch and toffee apples, mom and her two kids load their pumpkin stash in their truck and head home, where dad and the baby greet them. They clean and polish their pumpkins, gather the tools they need, and invite some friends over to help them carve.

 

 

We follow them through every step, from cutting the pumpkins open, to scooping out seeds and strings, to carving out eyes, noses and mouths. So many different shapes, facial expressions, and pumpkin personalities!

Then it’s time for outdoor decorations:

Cobwebs strung from post to post,
Rings of gauzy dancing ghosts.
Spiders. Tombstones.
Dangling bats.
Skeletons and witches’ hats.

Now that the scene is set, everyone dons their costumes before proudly carrying their pumpkins outside. Then it’s that magical moment when the pumpkins are lit — turning them into spooky jack-o’-lanterns!

 

 

Its red-hot eyes
will gaze
and flicker.

Its fiery grin
will blaze and snicker,
to guard your house
while you have fun.

 

With the neighborhood aglow, mummies, ghosts, witches, skeletons and vampires take to the streets for a howling good time.

 

 

Patty’s rhythmic, exuberant text is a joy to read aloud and is packed with vivid sensory details that place the reader smack dab in the middle of all the action.

Lumpy chunks. Sticky strings,
Clumpy seeds. Guts and things.
With a spoon, scrape sides neatly.
Clean the inside out completely.

And how I love Jarvis’s pencil, chalk, paint and digitally colored illustrations! Gorgeous composition and layering resplendent with fall colors and textures. You can just about hear those leaves crunching underfoot, feel the chilly autumn wind on your cheeks, hear the happy chatter of family and friends as they carve pumpkins together.

 

 

Just as he did with Pick a Pine Tree, where he included a white cat, this time there’s a winsome black cat for keen eyes to track from spread to spread. Not sure if the cat followed the family home from the pumpkin patch, or if he belonged to them in the first place, but he’s adorable as he balances on fences, plays with the blackbirds, peers out the front window, or sticks his little paw into a bowl of pumpkin “guts.”

I can easily see Pick a Pumpkin becoming a fall classic; it positively glows with fun and goodness!

Now let’s hear from Patty! 🙂

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🎃 TALKIN’ PUMPKINS WITH PATRICIA TOHT 🎃

 

 

Please share a favorite Halloween memory from your childhood. Do any particular costumes, jack-o’-lanterns, or spooky happenings stand out?

There were no store-bought costumes at our house! Either my mother sewed costumes for my six siblings and me or, as we got older, we made our own costumes. The only problem was that I followed two older sisters, and Mom often made us matching costumes. Thanks to hand-me-downs, I ended up being a clown for years!

 

 

 

Tell us about taking your own kids to a pumpkin patch every year. What did they and you like best about it? What other special things did you do to celebrate Halloween and Fall?

We visited some terrific pumpkin patches in the Chicago suburbs when my kids were little. At Sonny Acres, they separated their pumpkins by size into huge mounds. My kids loved scrambling over the pumpkin mountains, in search of the perfect pumpkin. Kuipers had a patch that stretched over acres, so we pulled a wagon around, adding pumpkins until it was barely moveable. When we came home, we spread papers and started the carving bonanza!

 

 

 

 

 

A fun tradition with friends was a post-trick-or-treat dinner. We either made Halloween-themed food (peeled grapes as eyeballs, cookies shaped as fingers with almond fingernails, etc.), or we ordered pizza. While the kids dumped their treat bags and traded candy, the adults had festive drinks.

When you were last here talking about Pick a Pine Tree, you mentioned how challenging it is to sell rhyming picture books. Since your rhyming texts are brilliant and pitch perfect, could you please tell us about your process and share some tips for writing them?

I work hard on my rhyming. I’ve studied books, attended a Highlights poetry workshop with Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Alice Schertle, and taken classes with Chicago poet Heidi Roemer. The more you learn, the better your poetry will be!

Here are three tips:

• Make sure your first few stanzas are spot on. They set up the rhythm for the rest of your book. If you stumble at the start, editors often won’t bother to read the rest of your manuscript.
• Always read your work aloud. Better yet, have someone else read it aloud. Nothing catches rhythm slips and awkward phrasing like hearing someone stumble while reading.
• Find other rhymers and form a critique group. I’ve been blessed with critique partners who are amazing. They challenge me to make my work better. Two of them have wonderful poetry collections out this fall – Michelle Schaub’s FINDING TREASURE and Eileen Rajala Meyer’s THE SUPERLATIVE A. LINCOLN.

 

 

Which rhyming picture books by other authors have been most helpful and inspiring for your own writing?

The rhythm and flow of PICK A PUMPKIN and PICK A PINE TREE were strongly influenced by Alice Schertle’s ALL YOU NEED FOR A SNOWMAN. I love everything that Julia Donaldson has written. Linda Ashman and Mem Fox are two more favorites.

What were some of your thoughts about Jarvis’s illustrations when you first saw the finished book? Did you find any particular details or spreads especially delightful or surprising?

I adore Jarvis’ illustrations! My husband and I laughed that he must’ve had access to our Halloween photos as inspiration. One illustration has a child with a pumpkin over his/her head, and my youngest son used to carve his pumpkin from the bottom so he could put the pumpkin on his head.

 

 

 

I also love that he added an “Easter egg” – our names on buildings in one spread.

 

 

Which Fall and/or Halloween picture books were most popular in your bookstore?

THE LITTLE OLD LADY WHO WAS NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING was a huge hit for storytime. SHAKE DEM HALLOWEEN BONES by W. Nikola-Lisa was one that got everyone up and moving. IN A DARK, DARK ROOM by Alvin Schwartz was just spooky enough for beginning readers.

 

 

Is there anything else you’d like us to know about Pick a Pumpkin?

Three of my children are now married, and I dedicated the book to their spouses. One of them, Obie, carved his very first pumpkin with us when he was in his thirties!

 

 

What’s next for you?

Two more books will be coming out in 2020-2021. TAXI, GO is a bit of “red light/green light” with a taxi. TOGETHER WITH YOU is a celebration of grandparents and grandchildren, and will also be illustrated by Jarvis. (Lucky me!)

Finally, please share a favorite pumpkin recipe.

I would love to share a recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds, but I am an utter failure at making them! Every year I try, and every year I fail…

Instead, here’s a recipe for Skeleton Finger Cookies (adapted from my favorite Mexican wedding cookies).

 

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Thanks for visiting and sharing the wonderful photos and recipe, Patty!

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PICK A PUMPKIN
written by Patricia Toht
illustrated by Jarvis
published by Candlewick Press, July 2019
Picture Book for ages 3-7, 40 pp.
**Starred Review**  from Booklist

♥ In case you missed it, check out my interview with Patty about Pick a Pine Tree . 🙂

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📕 PICK A PUMPKIN BOOK GIVEAWAY! 🍂

The publisher is generously donating a copy for one lucky Alphabet Soup reader. For a chance to win, simply leave a comment at this post telling us what you like best about Fall, no later than midnight (EST) Wednesday, October 9, 2019. You may also enter by sending an email with PUMPKIN in the subject line to: readermail (at) jamakimrattigan (dot) com.  Giveaway open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only, please. Good Luck!

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🎉 FINDING TREASURE GIVEAWAY WINNER! 🎈

It was so much fun reading about all the different things you blog readers collect! I think one thing we all have in common is that we all collect books :).

I also think I missed my calling as a museum curator. I’ve always been fascinated by the physical objects people throughout history have made, manufactured, lived with, preserved, and enjoyed.

M. Random Integer Generator (a champion collector of numbers), was only too pleased to pick the winner for this wonderful book, and it is:

📗 STEPHANIE SHAW! 🐻

👏 👏 HOORAY! CONGRATULATIONS, STEPHANIE!👏👏

This is what Stephanie collects:

My collection is/was children’s books (surprise!). When we moved a couple years ago, I called a children’s librarian and said, “If you come right this minute, I have something for you.” We loaded the collection into her car. My deep sadness at bidding them goodbye was quickly replaced with happiness knowing they would be with children — where they were always intended to be. Since then I’ve ‘captured’ many more wonderful books and will be releasing them to another library in the future.

Cool, no?

Thanks, everyone, for entering this giveaway!

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Cheriee Weichel is hosting the Roundup at Library Matters, where she is featuring an in-depth introduction to Vancouver poet Robert Heidbreder. Zoom over to check out the full menu of poetic goodness being served around the blogosphere this week. Happy Weekend!

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This post is also being linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking, where all are invited to share their food-related posts. Put on your best aprons and bibs, and come join the fun!

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*Interior spreads text copyright © 2019 Patricia Toht, illustrations © 2019 Jarvis, published by Candlewick Press. All rights reserved.

**Copyright © 2019 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.