Big Pumpkin (U)

The witch has grown the biggest pumpkin ever, and now she wants to make herself a pumpkin pie for Halloween. But the pumpkin is so big she can't get it off the vine. It's so big the ghost can't move it, either. Neither can the vampire, nor the mummy. It looks as if there'll be no pumpkin pie for Halloween, until along comes the bat with an idea to save the day. How can the tiny bat succeed where bigger and strong spooky creatures have failed? You'll be surprised!Publishers WeeklyA rhythmic text and a vibrant palette combine in a Halloween tale noteworthy for its finely tuned balance of drama and comedy. A green-faced witch, with pickle-shaped nose and chin, decides to mark the holiday by baking a pumpkin pie. But the pumpkin she's planted is stuck on the vine. A gallery of graveyard ghouls comes to her aid--first a translucent white ghost, then a smartly dressed vampire, a tightly bound mummy and, finally, a bat with a bright idea. Their breezy conversations create a pleasantly sinister mood that stops just short of being scary. Accordingly, in Schindler's hands the cast looks not so much spooky as spirited. The eye-catching full-spread illustrations, in rich hues of orange and blue, capture the midnight magic, while dropped-out type adds an extra dash of mystery. A fine combination of fright and fun. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)