With its creative exemplification on the spooky holiday, this book remains informative and fun as it teaches young children how to safely carve their favorite Halloween characters onto pumpkins. As straight-forward as it is explanatory, the book acts as a simple guide; depicting what each carving may need, a step-by-step on how to do so, and what each step may appear as; allowing for children as young as elementary age to easily follow while never losing interest. With science texts, its provisional instruction in both visuals and texts allow for comprehension in students either native in the English language or not; granting warrant for my choice in giving this book a 5/5 rating. ( )

This picture book is a great scientific text to use with children, especially around Halloween time. This would be a great book to motivate students to learn/read, because many of them carve pumpkins around Halloween time, meaning they would want to know the materials needed, as well as, the specific steps on how to do so. They would also most likely be interested in the creative carving options offered throughout the book that they may want to consider for their carving in the near future. This book begins with a step-by-step on how to properly carve a pumpkin, which could be assessed after reading the book by asking students to recall the characteristic events of the text. The step-by-step is given both in written form and through a variety of pictures, which would be beneficial for all students comprehension, especially those that are English Language learners or considered to be struggling readers. ( )

If you haven't already done so, now is the time to purchase your pumpkins. For those looking to create something a little different than your ordinary Jack-o'-lantern, check out the ideas featured in "How to Carve Freakishly Cool Pumpkins."

As expected, the book begins with "Carving Basics" for beginners and a list of required tools. From there it gets more interesting. There are directions for 11 creepy pumpkins. My favorites are Spider Bite, Hoot Hoot, and the Puking Pumpkin. Each project includes a list of materials, step-by-step instructions, tips, and a full color photograph of the finished pumpkin. The text uses simple sentences appropriate for kids in grade school, and the projects use readily available materials. The book also includes a glossary and index as well as book suggestions for further reading.

The Bottom Line: If you are interested in transforming your pumpkins into something different this year, check out the ideas in this book. You can make creepy pumpkin critters, owls, mummies, skeletons, cauldrons, and more using pumpkins, gourds, paint, and a few simple tools. This book offers creative fun for kids and adults alike. It's a good place to start if you are looking for new ideas. However, if you are looking for templates, you will have to look elsewhere. There are none inside this book. Projects require adult supervision and some previous experience carving pumpkins would be helpful. ( )