Using the classic British nursery rhyme and cumulative tale, This Is the House That Jack Built as a model, author Fay Robinson tells the back story of the pumpkin that Kim carved in this seasonal early reader. "This is the pumpkin that Kim carved," the narrative begins, continuing "This is the store that sold the pumpkin that Kim carved," and so on, all the way back to the seed from which the pumpkin came. The story concludes with Kim and her carved pumpkin, AKA jack-o-lantern...

Part of Houghton Mifflin's Invitation to Literacy book collection, "an integrated K–8 reading and language arts program," The Pumpkin That Kim Carved is a yellow level Little Reader, for newly fluent early readers. As mentioned, it uses a well-known story type, one that many young children will find familiar, and pairs it with impressionistic illustrations from artist Judy Pedersen. Although I can't say I found this one particularly impressive from a storytelling perspective, I did appreciate the autumnal colors and themes here, and I don't doubt it would work as an early reader. ( )