From Seed to Pumpkin

From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer goes through the entire life cycle of a pumpkin from seed to jack-o-lantern or pie!  While the pictures are drawings and not true photographs, they do a great job of showing up close the different parts of the pumpkin.  A great thing about this book is that it uses very little difficult vocabulary.  Because it does not give the actual vocabulary words for the parts of the plant, it can be used for primary grades during fall to discuss life cycles.  Teachers for upper grades can supplement the text with the science vocabulary if they are using the book to teach science.  In addition to the parts and life cycle of the pumpkin, it also touches on the process of photosynthesis.  Once again, science terms are left out but the process is shown through pictures and described in words that students can understand.  This could be a great introduction to plants, life cycles, and photosynthesis for primary students.  However, with supplementation, it can be a great reinforcement of those same topics for upper elementary students, especially those visual learners who want to see the whole process shown in pictures.  Another interesting aspect of this book is that it includes a “Find out more about pumpkins” section at the end.  Using this, students can learn how to make pumpkin pie, roast pumpkin seeds, and even learn more about photosynthesis.