Pumpkin Jack

Picture book, 32 pages. Published in 2018 by Albert Whitman and Company.

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Eternal Jack

This is a wonderful fictional story about the life cycle of the pumpkin plant! Children will understand Tim's sadness at letting his first Jack o' lantern go to his surprise and excitement at new spring plants and pumpkins ready just in time to carve a second Jack!

It's really a lovely picture book! (and has nothing to do with the Nintendo game of the same name...)

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Ideas for Making it Real

Carving or drawing a Jack o' lantern is a great autumn tradition, especially if your family celebrates Halloween. But there are so many more things you can do with a pumpkin!

• Kiddos of every age love eating warm, roasted pumpkin seeds - check out KidsActivities.com for Super Easy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds directions.
  
• Older children enjoy helping out with pie crust and what could be better than turning a pumpkin into homemade pumpkin pie!? Pumpkin Patches and More offers 2 different pie recipes based on the type of pumpkin used - use the second if you are turning your Jack o' lantern into pie!
  
• The National Wildlife Federation has a great article, How to Recycle Halloween Pumpkins for Wildlife, which gives your kiddos choices on how to share Jack with our nature friends.
  
• Finally, look for community activities celebrating the Pumpkin - my metropolitan area boasts of events from the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta to the Elephants Squishing Pumpkins, an annual enrichment activity for the elephants at the Oregon Zoo.
  

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