Pumpkin Cat

10/19/2020

Anne Mortimer

Mortimer, professional artist, illustrator and author, is known for her cats as well as other animal illustrations. In addition to her own Bunny's Easter Egg, Mortimer illustrated Sue Stainton's Santa's Snow Cat, Margaret Wise Brown's Pussycat's Christmas and Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat.

Her work is also used by companies such as Wedgwood, the Danbury Mint, Smith, Marks & Spencer, as well as Disney USA.

World Relevance

Pumpkins are a wonderful learning tool. And for the little ones in our lives just learning about autumn, they are big, mysterious and gooey! Pumpkins in October can be used for math & science, arts & crafts, as well as social studies -- all for preschool through 2nd grade students.

If you are interested in teaching young children to garden, remember to add this book to your spring list -- it's a wonderful primer to use throughout the pumpkin's growing cycle.

Mouse found a watering can.
"What now?" asked Cat.
"Time to water the seeds," said Mouse.
So they did.

They left the pots in a warm, sunny spot.
Ten days later, two green leaves appeared in each pot.
"What now?" asked Cat.

"Time to plant the seedlings outside," said Mouse.
So they did.

In a few weeks, there were lots of big, prickly leaves and big, yellow papery flowers covered in pollen.
Lots of bees came and buzzed between the flowers.
"What now?" asked Cat.
"We just watch," said Mouse.
So they did.

Synopsis

Mouse and Cat, the best of friends, grow pumpkins together. They plant the seeds in May, move seedlings outside, enjoy the bees buzzing around, protect the little green pumpkins from the crows with a handsome Scarecrow, and harvest big, beautiful orange pumpkins in October. Mortimer has added an "Instructions for Growing Pumpkins" page at the end of the book.

Learning Connections

Pumpkins in the Primary Classroom: Curricular Unit, Scholastic.

8 Pumpkin Activities for Preschool, Pre-K Pages

Observing the Life Cycle of Pumpkins, Scholastic

Planting Pumpkins in Kindergarten, Simply Kinder

Ages: 3 - 8 years old, Picture Books, 24 pages. Mouse shows Cat how to grow pumpkins, then turns one into a surprise.

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