I really love children’s books that are written for specific holidays, and since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays I really love books about Halloween. I actually bought the book Pumpkin Eye for my kids a couple of years ago at their school book fair. I had wanted to review it at the time, but somehow the book slipped away from where I had been keeping it. But the book has now re-surfaced and it is now my pleasure to review Pumpkin Eye, by Denise Fleming.

Pumpkin Eye

Pumpkin eye by Denise Fleming is a board book for children. This book is a book you would expect to read at Halloween because it is basically all about Halloween. Though the title is Pumpkin Eye it is not a book about a pumpkin. There is a pumpkin in the book but it is certainly not the main focus of the book.

Pumpkin Eye is actually a poem, that has been illustrated. Every page contains either a line from the poem or an illustration, and sometimes the pages will contain both a line from the story and an illustration. The poem is also a story about a neighborhood that is being taken over by Trick or Treaters. But things look a little scarier on this street than in most neighborhoods.

According to the flap on the back cover the illustrations are done in pulp painting. I honestly have no idea what that means, but that is what it says. Each page is actually colored black with the color on top of the black background. I wish I had a better way of describing the illustrations but I guess the best way I can describe them is by saying that they are slightly blurry for affect. In other words the lines of the illustrations are not fine by any means, but yet each picture is completely identifiable. The colors are also all either dark and spooky or in fall shades such as orange. This all adds a nice spooky Halloween affect.

The poem is also a bit spooky. For example: “Trick or Treat – Pounding feet - eerie shadows fill the street.” Or “Down the Hill, spirits spill.”

The Trick or Treat – Pounding feet part is repeated through out the book adding a different line at the end. This adds a very nice spooky, yet rhythmic feel to the book. The poem flows very nicely, and rhymes very well. The book allows for lots of scary voices to be used while reading it.

Throughout the book you will see scary witches, ghosts, lizards, bats, skeletons, and several other scary creatures, but if you take a really good look you just might notice that they are Trick or Treaters, out to get treats on very eerie Halloween night.

Pumpkin Eye was both written and Illustrated by Denise Fleming, who has authored and illustrated 10 other children’s books including: The Everything Book. Pumpkin Eye was published in 2001.

Family Experience

I have to admit that this book makes Halloween seem kind of scary. Well it at least it makes it seem scary to be out on the street trick or treating on Halloween. But once your child realizes that it is just all of the Tricker Treaters making things seem scary they get over being scared. The way the poem is written makes a great poem to disguise your voice and make it scary while your reading, or to change the intensity. I loved to make my voice especially creepy and intense when I read the pages that said “Trick or Treat – Pounding feet.” Then I would really exaggerate the final line. I also liked to use a high pitched eerie voice, and a scary witch like voice when I read the book to my kids. The first time I read they told me that the book freaked them out. But they wanted me to read it again to them every night for nearly 2 weeks until after Halloween the year we bought the book.

My two older kids are a little to old for this book now, but when they saw it the other day they wanted me to read to their brother who is 2 ½. Of course all of the eeieness, and exaggeration was wasted on him, as he is still at the stage where he likes to point to things at things in books that he recognizes and screams what they are out loud. Needless to say this is not a great book for a 2 year old.

This book is best for 4 to 7 year olds in my opinion, and may not be great for kids who are really easily scared. But I think most kids in that age bracket would really like this book especially if it is read with plenty of expression. My kids were 6 and 7 when I read it to them.

Pumpkin Eye is a great book for getting in to the spirit of Halloween.

This has been my second contribution to my Resurrecting The Oldies Book Write off. There have been a lot of great contributions. Please feel free to join us. Below is a list and clickable links to all of the other entries in the write off.

Write Off Participants

Stephen_Murray - Luigi Pirandello et al - Shoot!: The Notebooks of Serafino Gubbio, Cinematograph Operator

http://www.epinions.com/content_263004458628

Slaughter House Five
http://www.epinions.com/content_264281689732

marybatson
-Halloween Night

http://www.epinions.com/content_263581175428

Monster Mischief

http://www.epinions.com/content_263857540740

Skeleton Hiccups ~ Dem Bones Will Make Ya Giggle!

http://www.epinions.com/content_264566902404

Sheep Trick or Treat -

http://www.epinions.com/content_266570600068

Happy Halloween Biscuit -

http://www.epinions.com/content_269625233028

Something Pumpkin

http://www.epinions.com/content_270727417476

Plump and Perky Turkey

http://www.epinions.com/content_276764593796

The First Thanksgiving Day

http://www.epinions.com/content_280643341956

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims

http://www.epinions.com/content_277791018628

Alligator Arrived With Apples
http://www.epinions.com/content_283510804100

captaind - Frankenstein
http://www.epinions.com/content_264866401924

Dashiell Hammett - Maltese Falcon

http://www.epinions.com/content_269538266756

waynio - They Thought They Were Free
http://www.epinions.com/content_263350816388

jeavinl - Patrick O'Brien - Gigantic: How Big Were the Dinosaurs?

http://www.epinions.com/content_266000830084#ow

pestyside - Jack Prelutsky - Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep

http://www.epinions.com/content_267980476036

daddym - The Lost Tooth Club
http://www.epinions.com/content_267729931908

artemis8 - The Ant Bully
http://www.epinions.com/content_269834489476

Lizzy Rockwell - Good Enough to Eat: A Kid's Guide to Food and Nutrition

http://www.epinions.com/content_271486979716

Red Blue Yellow Shoe

http://www.epinions.com/content_276515688068



grandpawa - The Five People You Meet In Heaven
http://www.epinions.com/content_270033915524

Tuesdays With Morrie

http://www.epinions.com/content_278444347012

Bryan_Carey - Susan Collins et al - Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate

http://www.epinions.com/content_269831343748

jankp - Paul A. Cantor - Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization

http://www.epinions.com/content_268649336452#ow

msmorvay - Blue Goes to School

http://www.epinions.com/content_253058518660

kamel622

Halloween Night

http://www.epinions.com/content_270576029316


The Great Halloween Treat

http://www.epinions.com/content_266059878020

saxguy
Orison Swett Marden - Optimistic Life1907

http://www.epinions.com/content_270937656964

The Ultimate Christmas Fake Book

http://www0.epinions.com/content_292568862340

patazis5 - Flowers in the Attic

http://www.epinions.com/content_272298839684

lyoness913 - Prince Charming
http://www.epinions.com/content_273090973316

Trailhound - The Osterman Weekend

http://www.epinions.com/content_275320049284

carstairs38 - The Red Trailer Mystery: Trixie Belden #2

http://www.epinions.com/content_276516343428

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax

http://www.epinions.com/content_277424868996

popsrocks - Jonathan Livingston Seagull

http://www1.epinions.com/content_277192871556#ow

Recommended: Yes