Book Review: The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin by Margaret Wise Brown
The tale of a special place where children create a grown-up world of their own.
Age: 3-5, 4-8
Overall rating: 3 ½ stars
Literary value: 4 stars
Artistic value: 3 ½ stars
Themes of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness
Siblings having fun and celebrating together. Poetic language.
Discussion Questions
Why do you think the little pumpkin wanted to be fierce?
Who was the pumpkin’s role model? Do you think he was a good role model? Why or why not?
What are things that make you feel big and important?
Academic Tie-ins
Science (change, pumpkin life cycle, fall)
Parents might want to know
There is a scene where the children dance in a circle around the pumpkin “singing a song to the terrific, terrible pumpkin with the zigzag grin.”
This is a peculiar little book. The language is delightful, as one might expect from the beloved author of Goodnight Moon. The repetition of “fat little, round little, orange little pumpkin” and phrases like “fierce, ferocious gobble-gooble face” make it a real joy to read out loud. The illustrations are captivating. The drawings of the children have an oddness to them, but the pictures of the mice and the pumpkin and the scenes of the fields with the scarecrow are all very engaging.
What makes the book peculiar is the protagonist. Our fat little, round little, orange little pumpkin wants to be big. Fair enough. But he also wants to be mean. In the end, he gets his wish. He becomes a “terrific, terrible pumpkin with [a] zigzag grin.” And, as he wished, the mice run when they see him.
If you are looking for a “spooky season” book for your little ones that isn’t too dark or scary, this fits the bill. My sensitive little boy (now 19!) gasped when the pumpkin’s fierce face was revealed, which is particularly amusing given the drawing is pretty much the same as the one on the cover of the book. The prose and illustrations also perfectly capture the crisp yet dreary feeling of late October. The book more than delivers as an addition to the Halloween atmosphere.
You can read it for that alone – enjoy the illustrations and the lyrical language and then let it go on its merry way. Or, you can dig a little deeper and wonder together why this pumpkin wants to be mean and scary. It could be an interesting conversation starter, especially if you have a little pumpkin who likes to be scary.
