“A bouncy rhyme and delightful artwork bring this pumpkin fair to life. The young narrator is ecstatic to be at the local pumpkin fair, where pumpkins of every size are on display—and that’s not all! There’s pumpkin bowling, a pumpkin pull, and every sort of food you can imagine made from the orange stuff, from ice cream to stew. . . . Christelow’s good-natured watercolor-and-ink illustrations are filled with things to look at and laugh about, including a marching band in pumpkin suits. Keep this book around to read for autumn story hours—but you might want a piece of pumpkin pie when you’re done.”—ALA Booklist “Christelow’s jubilant illustrations in watercolor and pen and ink add to the general atmosphere of gaiety—everywhere readers look, families are interacting happily and having fun. . . . Halloween is never mentioned, so the book could be used to celebrate the harvest season in general. Of course, it will also serve as a good non-scary Halloween story.”—School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 2. This story in rhyme celebrates a small town's "Pumpkin Fair," complete with a Pumpkin Princess and Peter Pumpkin Band. Everyone comes to carve pumpkins; bowl pumpkins; spit pumpkin seeds; juggle pumpkins; make pumpkin creatures; and eat pumpkin stew, cake, pie, ice cream, and cookies. The young narrator brings her very own pet pumpkin to the festivities and winds up with two ribbons for the "best-loved pumpkin at the fair. The best-loved pumpkin anywhere!" Christelow's jubilant illustrations in watercolor and pen and ink add to the general atmosphere of gaiety?everywhere readers look, families are interacting happily and having fun. According to a sign, it is October 28th, and many of the children in the pictures are wearing costumes, but Halloween is never mentioned, so the book could be used to celebrate the harvest season in general. Of course, it will also serve as a good non-scary Halloween story.?Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. The reason for this determinedly jolly book seems to be to provide educators with a fall title that invokes autumn harvest themes and even jack-o'-lanterns--yet it never mentions Halloween. It's a bland book from Bunting (I Am the Mummy Heb- Nefert, p. 550, etc.), without her usual bite and wit: ``I'm going to the Pumpkin Fair./Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!/`These ones here were grown from seed--/Yes sir, yes sir, yes indeed!' '' The girl who narrates and her family attend a quaint, small-town festival, where there is pumpkin-bowling, pumpkin- basketball, pumpkin-carving, seed-spitting, decoration, food, and her prize for ``best-loved pumpkin anywhere.'' It's a family day, with children and pets everywhere and a band dressed as pumpkins. Bunting has done just about everything she can to celebrate the pumpkin, but why? Christelow valiantly trudges along, mustering as many pumpkin-related scenes as she can and stuffing them with comic characters and events, but even she begins to flag near the end. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. "Christelow's jubilant illustrations in watercolor and pen and ink add to the general atmosphere of gaiety--everywhere readers look, families are interacting happily and having fun. . . . A good non-scary Halloween story." School Library Journal Eve Bunting has written over two hundred books for children, including the Caldecott Medal-winning Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz, The Wall , Fly Away Home , and Train to Somewhere . She lives in Southern California. Eileen Christelow  has written and illustrated numerous best-selling picture books including ten popular stories about the Five Little Monkeys, Vote! , and Robins!: How They Grow Up . She lives with her husband in East Dummerston, Vermont. Visit her online at christelow.com and fivelittlemonkeys.com.