The illustrations in this book by Karen Katz are color-rich with boldly drawn characters and objects that are easy for little ones to identify.
Young children enjoy Karen Katz books immensely! Her books are an excellent example of what a wonderful board book can be like.
Sarah Laucks, Founder, Beehive Books and Art
About the Talent It Takes To Create Board Books
You might think that board books are all sort of the same. After all they only ever contain a few words, a few pictures, and a few pages. It doesn’t seem like there’s much to creating something like that – right?!
The interesting thing is that kids often show us that some board books are produced by very talented people, and some board books are just not as great. Kids gravitate to the well-created board books.
Those authors and illustrators are the kind of people who work and work and work at the words and art in their books. Until they get the book just right. These are the book creators who really understand the knack of writing well for very young children, and they’ve perfected the craft of creating spectacular board books for little children.
Karen Katz is one of these very talented people in the board book world. Each word in her books is carefully, precisely chosen, and the rhymes are exactly what little ears want and need to hear. This talent becomes more obvious over time as you read more board books by other authors. Gems like this book by Karen Katz (and any book by Karen Katz for that matter) rise to the top in this space of board books.
Why Read This Book
- It’s a book about Halloween that’s very gentle and appropriate for young children. It works well as a book to share with kids during the fall in combination with other fall or Halloween activities.
- It’s a lift-a-flap book which is engaging for young children AND helps them build the strength and use of their fingers, also called “fine-motor dexterity.”
The whole process of interacting with life-a-flap books is something you need to teach to children. Most pick it up quickly and then you can reinforce the skill by reading a bunch of lift-a-flap books. They love this new skill and it’s a lot of fun to read these books with them. This process is also an early step in understanding how to follow instructions.
Book Facts
Author and Illustrator: Karen Katz
Copyright: Published in 2006
Publisher: Little Simon
Age Range: Babies to Preschoolers, Birth to Age 4
About the Book Art: Karen Katz is a prolific author/illustrator of books for young children. Her distinctive style is instantly recognizable. On her website karenkatz.com she shares interesting thoughts about her process and how she creates her books. I love this article where she speaks in her own words about her books and you can also see photos of her in her studio!
Get This Book
Where Is Baby’s Pumpkin is available both new and used. This book has been in constant publication since it’s release; as a result you can probably find copies at local thrift and consignment shops.
Buy this book NEW from:
Buy this book USED from:
* When you buy from Bookshop and Biblio you support “indies” aka “independent booksellers”. Your purchase helps keep the independent and diversified voices of book curation alive and well! Learn more here.
BORROW this book from your local library:
Visit your local library to borrow a copy of this book. If you don’t see it on their shelves, ask them to request the book for you. You may be able to request the book online through their website; if that does not work talk directly with library staff to make your request.
Use Care When Buying Lift-a-Flap Books!
A pro tip from me to you:
Use care when you purchase lift-a-flap books second-hand. It is possibly to buy these books used and have the book be in great condition. Check the book before you make your purchase to be sure all the flaps are still in the book. It’s easy for flaps to get ripped out by eager young readers who are still developing their dexterity and motor skills!
See Inside
Click any photo to view it larger.
Hug Hug! – A Board Book