Grumpkin the grumpy pumpkin is determined to get out of the pumpkin patch and leave the annoying season of fall behind in this humorous board book for children ages 3-6.
Grumpkin is a grumpy pumpkin who dislikes fall and Halloween. All those costumes and candy-obsessed kids...but the worst part is that Grumpkin has to babysit his five little cousins! Why couldn’t he have been a coconut on a tropical island instead? He’s determined to get out of this muddy pumpkin patch, and NO ONE is going to squash his dreams . . . .
STARRED REVIEW Toddler-K–He’s grumpy. He’s brutally honest. He has bigger dreams! And Grumpkin “really can’t stand Halloween.” This bitter pumpkin has had enough of the costumes and trick-or-treating, and he can’t help but think of much better places to be. When the desire to have a new life turns to a reality, Grumpkin has to come to terms with how his life as a pumpkin has changed in paradise. Despite his disdain for all things Halloween, Grumpkin is an adorable bright orange pumpkin whose first-person point-of-view and litany of questions like “Why couldn’t I have been a summer squash instead?” and “What’s so great about getting picked?” make him relatable and endearing. The deliberate use of questions and exclamations, such as “Hello, paradise!” and “these trees don’t grow candy corn!” shows readers and emerging writers how word choice and punctuation can impact a story. There are a lot of language choices here that would make this book a great option to use as a text model. For example, words that are in bold font build Grumpkin’s hyperbolically negative tone: “No one ever lets me forget it,” or “literally all they care about is being picked.” The variety of illustration sizes, from highlight illustrations to spreads, offers all the more depth and engagement. VERDICT A winner. This title could easily become a new classic.--School Library Journal
Nicola Edwards was raised by the seaside in beautiful Brighton. She loves reading, dancing, rhyming, and turquoise things. She now lives with her husband and children in North London and spends her days writing and editing children's books. She has been nominated for the UKLA and Blue Peter Book awards and is a two-time Parenting Product Awards winner.
Siân Roberts studied illustration in Bournemouth, and her debut picture book published in 2021. She has since worked on stories about everything from pirate princesses to sparkling unicorns, dancing dinosaurs to creepy crawlies. She works from her small home studio, surrounded by potted plants and fueled by many cups of tea!
Grumpkin the grumpy pumpkin is determined to get out of the pumpkin patch and leave the annoying season of fall behind in this humorous board book for children ages 3-6.
Grumpkin is a grumpy pumpkin who dislikes fall and Halloween. All those costumes and candy-obsessed kids...but the worst part is that Grumpkin has to babysit his five little cousins! Why couldn’t he have been a coconut on a tropical island instead? He’s determined to get out of this muddy pumpkin patch, and NO ONE is going to squash his dreams . . . .
Praise
STARRED REVIEW Toddler-K–He’s grumpy. He’s brutally honest. He has bigger dreams! And Grumpkin “really can’t stand Halloween.” This bitter pumpkin has had enough of the costumes and trick-or-treating, and he can’t help but think of much better places to be. When the desire to have a new life turns to a reality, Grumpkin has to come to terms with how his life as a pumpkin has changed in paradise. Despite his disdain for all things Halloween, Grumpkin is an adorable bright orange pumpkin whose first-person point-of-view and litany of questions like “Why couldn’t I have been a summer squash instead?” and “What’s so great about getting picked?” make him relatable and endearing. The deliberate use of questions and exclamations, such as “Hello, paradise!” and “these trees don’t grow candy corn!” shows readers and emerging writers how word choice and punctuation can impact a story. There are a lot of language choices here that would make this book a great option to use as a text model. For example, words that are in bold font build Grumpkin’s hyperbolically negative tone: “No one ever lets me forget it,” or “literally all they care about is being picked.” The variety of illustration sizes, from highlight illustrations to spreads, offers all the more depth and engagement. VERDICT A winner. This title could easily become a new classic.--School Library Journal
Author
Nicola Edwards was raised by the seaside in beautiful Brighton. She loves reading, dancing, rhyming, and turquoise things. She now lives with her husband and children in North London and spends her days writing and editing children's books. She has been nominated for the UKLA and Blue Peter Book awards and is a two-time Parenting Product Awards winner.
Siân Roberts studied illustration in Bournemouth, and her debut picture book published in 2021. She has since worked on stories about everything from pirate princesses to sparkling unicorns, dancing dinosaurs to creepy crawlies. She works from her small home studio, surrounded by potted plants and fueled by many cups of tea!
