We're Going on a Pumpkin Hunt

By: Mary Hogan Wilcox / Illustrated by: Lynn Munsinger Take youngsters of all scare levels on a bold adventure. This spooky seasonal rewrite of "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" is just the thing for an atmospheric autumn night! Our brave adventurers set out one night to find the biggest pumpkin in town, with one extra-nervous friend in tow. Who's scared? Are you? Not me! Their courage holds in the face of creepy night bugs and countless alarming obstacles, but when they meet one scare too many, it's time to hightail it home. Have the night's antics gone too far? No, everyone's cackling with laughter – it's fun to be scared with friends! A perfect read-aloud for the season of ghosts and ghouls, sure to delight even the most fainthearted among us. If you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: Haunted Party Alfred's Book of Monsters [TABS] Watch the trailer! Look Inside Author & Illustrator Mary Hogan Wilcox, author Mary Hogan Wilcox hunts for pumpkins (and eats pies) wiht her family in Boston, where she is also a children's book editor. This is her debut picture book. Read more about Mary. Lynn Munsinger, illustrator Lynn Munsinger has illustrated more than ninety books for children – bringing Wodney Wat, Tacky the Penguin, a porcupine named Fluffy, the Teeny Tiny Ghost, and Ogden Nash's Custard the Dragon to charming life. She lives in Vermont. Read more about Lynn. Awards & Honors Coming soon! Editorial Reviews Kirkus Reviews, starred review Going on a pumpkin hunt isn’t for scaredy-cats. No, it’s for six costumed animal pals, on the prowl for the “biggest pumpkin in town” on a dark night. Inspired by the classic We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, this peppy tale also stars an intrepid, adventurous band trekking through a who-knows-what-we’ll-find? landscape. As in that story, some odd noises punctuate the journey past various obstacles. “Are you scared?” asks one or another of the bigger animals of the little mouse along the way, but it professes bravery each time. This hunt is quite the enterprise, involving mountain climbing, walking through grass, tree climbing, rowing, and trumping through a pumpkin patch—where the group encounters…never mind. Beating a hasty retreat, the pals race past all their previous hurdles until they reach home—without stopping to hear something really important a now-laughing mouse wants to tell them. After all their travails, the friends decide the best pumpkin in town is “the yummiest”—in the pie they bake together. This comical, rollicking story is delicious, too, filled with sweetness and autumnal good cheer, buoyed by the pals’ camaraderie. The charming, delicate line illustrations exude good spirits, and they feature lots of activity, nighttime ambiance, and white space. Readers will want to join these good-natured, adorable animals—pig, mole, duck, mouse, rabbit, and squirrel—on their pumpkin-hunting exploits. Even without pumpkin pie, readers will hunt down this delightful Halloween offering. Publishers Weekly Fans of the familiar participatory rhyme “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” will want to jump right into the fun of this comforting Halloween version. A passel of animal pals, several sporting simple trick-or-treating costumes, set off on a pumpkin hunt: “Going to find a pumpkin,/ orange and round.” The sensory trek involves a squeaky gate and some ticklish grass, and then one of the pigs notes, “I see a pumpkin—/and it sees me!” The spooky sight of a pumpkin-headed scarecrow sends the crew scurrying back to the safety of home, where they put a yummy plan B into play. Munsinger crafts pen, ink, and watercolor compositions with a backdrop of soft blues and purples on a moonlit night, and her animal characters’ expressive faces fully capture the excitement of Wilcox’s spirited Halloween expedition. The Horn Book “We’re going on a pumpkin hunt / Going to find a big one…I’m not scared. / Are you? / Not me.” A group of farm animals in Halloween costumes sets off in search of a pumpkin. The pastel-toned palette of the ink-and-watercolor illustrations indicates that this “shiver-in-your-socks night” isn’t meant to be too scary; even the night sky is just a deep lavender — and the grinning pumpkin the animals ultimately find is the height of the thrills and chills. A preschool-friendly intro to Halloween, with plenty of opportunities for sound effects. Downloadables Download the Cover Download the Activity Kit Download the Distance Learning Lesson Kit Details Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-62354-118-7 E-book ISBN: 978-1-63289-888-3 EPUB Ages: 2–5 Page count: 32 11 x 8 1/2 [/TABS]