By: Mary Hogan Wilcox / Illustrated by: Lynn Munsinger

Take youngsters of all scare levels on a bold adventure.

This spooky seasonal rewrite of “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” is just the thing for an atmospheric autumn night!

Our brave adventurers set out one night to find the biggest pumpkin in town, with one extra-nervous friend in tow. Who’s scared? Are you? Not me! Their courage holds in the face of creepy night bugs and countless alarming obstacles, but when they meet one scare too many, it’s time to hightail it home. Have the night’s antics gone too far? No, everyone’s cackling with laughter it’s fun to be scared with friends!

A perfect read-aloud for the season of ghosts and ghouls, sure to delight even the most fainthearted among us.

If you like this book, youll enjoy these:
Haunted Party
Alfred’s Book of Monsters

[TABS]

Watch the trailer!

Look Inside

Author & Illustrator

Mary Hogan Wilcox, author

Mary Hogan Wilcox hunts for pumpkins (and eats pies) wiht her family in Boston, where she is also a children’s book editor. This is her debut picture book.

Read more about Mary.

Lynn Munsinger, illustrator

Lynn Munsinger has illustrated more than ninety books for children bringing Wodney Wat, Tacky the Penguin, a porcupine named Fluffy, the Teeny Tiny Ghost, and Ogden Nash’s Custard the Dragon to charming life. She lives in Vermont.

Read more about Lynn.

Awards & Honors

• Coming soon!

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Going on a pumpkin hunt isnt for scaredy-cats. No, its for six costumed animal pals, on the prowl for the biggest pumpkin in town on a dark night. Inspired by the classic Were Going on a Bear Hunt, this peppy tale also stars an intrepid, adventurous band trekking through a who-knows-what-well-find? landscape. As in that story, some odd noises punctuate the journey past various obstacles. Are you scared? asks one or another of the bigger animals of the little mouse along the way, but it professes bravery each time. This hunt is quite the enterprise, involving mountain climbing, walking through grass, tree climbing, rowing, and trumping through a pumpkin patchwhere the group encountersnever mind. Beating a hasty retreat, the pals race past all their previous hurdles until they reach homewithout stopping to hear something really important a now-laughing mouse wants to tell them. After all their travails, the friends decide the best pumpkin in town is the yummiestin the pie they bake together. This comical, rollicking story is delicious, too, filled with sweetness and autumnal good cheer, buoyed by the pals camaraderie. The charming, delicate line illustrations exude good spirits, and they feature lots of activity, nighttime ambiance, and white space. Readers will want to join these good-natured, adorable animalspig, mole, duck, mouse, rabbit, and squirrelon their pumpkin-hunting exploits. Even without pumpkin pie, readers will hunt down this delightful Halloween offering.

Publishers Weekly

Fans of the familiar participatory rhyme Were Going on a Bear Hunt will want to jump right into the fun of this comforting Halloween version. A passel of animal pals, several sporting simple trick-or-treating costumes, set off on a pumpkin hunt: Going to find a pumpkin,/ orange and round. The sensory trek involves a squeaky gate and some ticklish grass, and then one of the pigs notes, I see a pumpkin/and it sees me! The spooky sight of a pumpkin-headed scarecrow sends the crew scurrying back to the safety of home, where they put a yummy plan B into play. Munsinger crafts pen, ink, and watercolor compositions with a backdrop of soft blues and purples on a moonlit night, and her animal characters expressive faces fully capture the excitement of Wilcoxs spirited Halloween expedition.

The Horn Book

Were going on a pumpkin hunt / Going to find a big oneIm not scared. / Are you? / Not me. A group of farm animals in Halloween costumes sets off in search of a pumpkin. The pastel-toned palette of the ink-and-watercolor illustrations indicates that this shiver-in-your-socks night isnt meant to be too scary; even the night sky is just a deep lavender and the grinning pumpkin the animals ultimately find is the height of the thrills and chills. A preschool-friendly intro to Halloween, with plenty of opportunities for sound effects.

Downloadables

Download the CoverDownload the Activity KitDownload the Distance Learning Lesson Kit

Details

Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-118-7

E-book
ISBN: 978-1-63289-888-3 EPUB

Ages: 25
Page count: 32
11 x 81/2

[/TABS]