The Bumpy Little Squishy Squashy Dirty Pumpkin

The EK and PK children discussed The Bumpy Little Pumpkin written by Margery Cuyler and illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. Little Nell, Big Mama, Big Lizzie, and Big Sarah had a Big pumpkin patch. At Halloween, the sisters selected pumpkins to carve. When Little Nell chose a small, bumpy pumpkin, her Big sisters said it was little and ugly. They said Little Nell needed a bigger, better, nicer, smoother pumpkin. They left Little Nell in the pumpkin patch with orders to find a bigger and better pumpkin. With a little help from her animal friends (okay, it was a lot of help) Little Nell's pumpkin was transformed into a jolly, little jack-o-lantern. Of course, her sisters still weren't impressed, but that was okay. Big Mama liked it just fine, but more importantly, so did Little Nell.

Here, the EK Kids share their thoughts on The Bumpy Little Pumpkin.

Acadia: They're finding a perfect pumpkin. They were taking care of their pumpkin patch and then they were making jack-o-lanterns. She was going back and forth and back and forth and she said she liked the bumpy little pumpkin. Her sisters said, "I don't think I like that one." She was sad. Her animal friends helped her carve the pumpkin. And then the robins helped them make the face.

Katherine: I liked the part when her animal friends helped her carve the pumpkin.

Emelyn: The sisters said, "That's an ugly little bumpy pumpkin." She [Little Nell] was sad. I liked it when the friends helped the kid carve it. I liked the deer. I liked all the animals.

Summer: The pumpkin was too bumpy. The animals did the pumpkin. The moose cutted the pumpkin. The bear grabbed out all the stuff out of the pumpkin. The birds made a face for the pumpkin. She runned home. The mom hugged her.

Emmett: I like the hare because he's cute. The hare was whistling to the birds for them to carve the pumpkin.

Irena: The people said the pumpkin was ugly. She was sad. Her friends came over and they helped her make the pumpkin. She was whistling for the birds so they could help some more. They carved the eyes and the mouth and the nose. She was happy. She ran, ran, ran all the way home. They said it was a little ugly still. And then the mom thought it was fine. She gave her a kiss.

Eva: They grew a bumpy little pumpkin. They said she couldn't have it because it was too bumpy. She got sad. Her friends carved and pulled lots of stuff out of the pumpkin and carved the pumpkin. And then she brought it home. She got to keep the pumpkin.

Mackenzie: I like the animals because they were kind of cute. They turned the bumpy pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern, it was little and kind of funny. And I liked it when the birds come and carve the smiley face. It's kind of funny, too. It was sad when she starts crying because her sisters were being mean to her. In the end, the mom gave her a big, slobbery kiss.

Brady: I like this page because they found two good pumpkins. I like this page because she found a good size. It was too bumpy. I like this page because she was laying in the wheelbarrow. I had to sit in the wheelbarrow when I was like two and I had to hold two pumpkins. They were heavy. This is the last page I like because her friends helped. The moose cutted around.

Alec: The animals carved her pumpkin for her because the moms didn't do it for her.

Shea: The bear carved the pumpkin because her mom thinked she can't carve it because it's so bumpy. The deer carves the face. The crows cut the top off. And the bunny rabbit cutted the top off. She was running to the house to show her mom and sisters. The sisters said, "It still looks too bumpy!" But the mom said, "Nonsense! It's perfect!" They putted a bulb in it. One was tall, one was like a pumpkin, and one was bumpy.

Camryn: Big Lizzie and Big Sarah didn't like the bumpy because they thought it was too bumpy and too ugly. Little Nell was sad. Then the animals came. They helped Little Nell get it to be a good jack-o-lantern. Little Nell drawed a face. She took it home and Sarah and Lizzie still didn't like it. The mom liked it. The mom bended over and gave her a big, sloppy kiss.

Aiden: It was too scary, so I hid under the table! All the pages were scary. Look at the scary decorations. We have window stickers for Halloween. We have a glass pumpkin that glows up. 

Skyler:  They were going to pick a pumpkin. That's skinny. [The pumpkin.] It's really, really skinny. You know what she's getting? A bumpy one. They said it was ugly. She was sad. A bunny comed. Then a bear, then a deer because she was feeling sad. They helped her make the pumpkin. She whistled for the birdies to carve it. We made a pumpkin before! And we saw kids and we saw deers. We saw them on the street when we were driving, but we didn't run over them. One was little and one was big. [Turns her attention back to the story.] She showed them, but they said it was still ugly. She [the mom] hugged her and she was happy. Look! They have a whole bag of candy.

Here's what the PK kids had to say.

Olivia: Big Lizzie said it was too bumpy. Little Nell just cried and cried and cried and cried. Her friends the animals carved and carved and carved and carved, then she hugged it.

Bob: I like when she was doing the jack-o-lantern.

Anna: When she was picking a pumpkin, her was crying. Her cried and she drew the picture with her finger. When her picked the pumpkin, her wouldn't be sad anymore. Once her get home to the Big Mama, she brought it home and she was sleeping.

Mikayla: She picked a bumpy pumpkin but her mom [her sisters] said she can't get it. She had a tear, and more tears. She hugged the bumpy pumpkin. Her friends came and helped her. She whistled for the birds. They cut out the face. She ran inside. The sister said, "No picking it!" The mom said, "You can pick it." The mom gave her a hug.

Luke: She had tears on her face because she wants that fat pumpkin and her mother's gone. She whistled for the birds, because she wanted a pumpkin. She got a pumpkin. She runned home.

Robbie: He teared the cap off with his own antlers. The bear ripped the cap off with his long claws. He scooped out because they're going to carve the pumpkin because they're going to make a jack-o-lantern. The birds poked and poked and maked a hole for the jack-o-lantern for the face. The girl went running home. The mother comed out and said, "How did that get carved?" She said, "It came from the pumpkin patch." They made all jack-o-lanterns. Her thinked her jack-o-lantern was the best, and her thinked her jack-o-lantern was the best, and the mother said, "They're all beautiful!" And it said, "Happy Halloween!"

Autumn: She didn't know which pumpkin to pick. She wanted a bumpy little pumpkin. They [the sisters] didn't like it. They said, "Pick another pumpkin." She stayed with the little pumpkin. Her friends helped her carve the pumpkin. She ranned and bringed it home. Her sisters said, "That is still ugly and bumpy." The mom said, "I like it."

Lindsey: The animals helped the girl with the pumpkin. The girl whistled. She was calling the birds. They need to help the girl do the pumpkin face. She runned and get home. They loved it. The mom hugged the girl.

Alexis: The little girl picked the bumpy pumpkin. Her sisters said, "That looks squishy and squashy and dirty." She felt sad. The animals comed and helped her make a pumpkin. The moose helped the little girl carry it. The bear took all the seeds out. The birds made a face for her. She runned and bring it in the house. Her sisters said, "It still looks ugly!" The mom said, "It's great!" And then she hugged her mommy.

Ryan: I liked the whole thing.