Pick a Pumpkin
Told in gentle rhyme and featuring pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating and lots more spooky delights, perfect for children aged 3+
Age 3+
Picture Storybooks
Pick a pumpkin from the patch – tall and lean or short and fat. Vivid orange, ghostly white, or speckled green, might be just right...
Illustrated by the winner of the V&A Best Illustrated Book 2017
It’s Halloween! Which means it's time to dangle cobwebs and bats from the windows, put on costumes, and – most important of all – visit the pumpkin patch and pick out that perfect pumpkin! Then cart it home, scoop out the insides, carve a scary face, and finally light a candle inside, transforming it into a one-of-a-kind, glowing jack-o’-lantern.
With warm, autumnal art, and a rhythmic read-aloud text that captures all the excitement and familial feeling of Halloween, this is the perfect book to share by flickering candlelight on the spookiest night of the year.
“[…] perfectly captures that sense of misty autumnal days […] Warm autumnal colours and a rhythmic rhyming text capture the fun and excitement of Halloween.” Bookseller
“One to share on a crisp October night and to treasure, year after year.” BookTrust
Creators
Patricia Toht once owned a children's bookshop called Never Never Land, before turning a love of books into a love of writing. She is the author of Pick a Pine Tree, Pick a Pumpkin, Pick a Perfect Egg and Together With You, all illustrated by Jarvis, All Aboard the London Bus, illustrated by Sam Usher and Taxi, Go! illustrated by Maria Karipidou. She has contributed fiction, non-fiction and poetry to numerous children’s magazines. She lives in Chicago, USA. Find her online at patriciatoht.com and on X @PatriciaToht.
Jarvis studied Graphic Design and previously worked as a record sleeve designer, website designer and an animation director before becoming a children’s bookmaker. His titles with Walker Books include Bear and Bird, an illustrated fiction series that follows the funny mix-ups and comic misunderstandings between a pair of best friends. The first of six titles, Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories, was the Indie Book of the Month on release and has been published into 15 different territories. His picture books include Follow Me, Flo!, Tropical Terry, Mrs Mole, I’m Home!, Thank You, The Boy with Flowers in His Hair, which won the 2023 Oscar’s Book Prize and the Indies Book Prize, and Alan’s Big, Scary Teeth, which won the V&A Best Illustrated Book. He is also the illustrator of the much-loved Pick a Pine Tree, Pick a Pumpkin and Pick a Perfect Egg series written by Patricia Toht. His titles have over sold 1.8 million copies worldwide and have been published into over 25 languages. Jarvis lives in Manchester with his wife and their dog Milo. Follow him on Instagram as @booksbyjarvis.
