A Storybook Pumpkin Patch full of Book-O'-Lanterns

What child wouldn't love to help make a storybook themed Jack-O'-Lantern?  Low on the scary scale, high on the fun factor...

Have you every wondered how the tradition of Jack-O'-Lanterns started? Every October, carved pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps in the United States and other parts of the world. Gourd-like orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season. The practice of decorating “jack-o’-lanterns”—the name comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack—originated in Ireland, where large turnips and potatoes served as an early canvas. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral part of Halloween festivities. [source: history.com]

POOH BEAR

source

source

OLIVER JEFFER'S PENGUIN

source

SOME HUNGRY CATERPILLARS

[source]

source

VARIOUS LITERARY SPIDERS

source

source

Lots of schools host "no-carve-pumpkin" contests each year. I couldn't resist posting these cute book pumpkins that I found on the blog, "Sunny Days in Second Grade". Click here to see more!

FROG AND TOAD!

RAINBOW FISH

Source: Unless noted otherwise, all the bookish Halloween pumpkins featured in my post are from parents.com.  Click HERE for how to's.

Three Literary Themed Halloween Parties for 'tweens and teens (try thaying THAT 3 times!!)

1- Quothe the Raven Party
For a sophisticated party for teens, try this "Creative Raven" theme, using lines from Edgar Allen Poe's poem as your inspiration: you can find faux blackbirds and crows at most craft stores around this time of year. Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Issue 2012 has some great inspiration for an Edgar Allen Poe "Raven" themed party...

Dress up a large mirror with a feathery wreath and verses
from EDGAR ALLEN POE'S The Raven for a spooky dining room decoration.
Source  HERE

"But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling, 

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door; 

Then upon the velvet sinking, 

I betook myself to linking 

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore- 

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore 

Meant in croaking 'Nevermore'."

Birdcage pumpkin [source]

2- A Victorian Steampunk Party, Sherlock Holmes Style...

Get out your monocles, pipes, and capes...

Instead of using a magic wand, make a Cinderella Pumpkin using gears for the wheels,
a soap dish for the driver's seat, a drawer pull for the door, and a sink drain
for the window.  The little mice are mini white pumpkins with upholstery-tack
noses, wire whiskers, and nail feet. [source]

Easy to find Steampunk accessories (gears
and goggles), and costumes on Amazon.

I found a whole list of ideas on Squidoo, including using metallic paper goods, clocks, a fog machine, lanterns, and..."Mustache on a Stick"!

More free silhouette printables from bhg

3- Oz Pumpkinhead Party (with a little bit of Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow, and The Nightmare Before Christmas thrown in.)

Before Jack Skellington - the main character in Tim Burton's animated film,The Nightmare Before Christmas - there was L. Frank Baum's storybook character, Jack Pumpkinhead.

"...in his first scene in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack Skellington does have a pumpkin on his head, and looks very much like Jack Pumpkinhead. Also, the director of Nightmare was Henry Sellick who, eight years earlier, had been a storyboard artist on Return to Oz, and therefore had several opportunities to draw Jack Pumpkinhead. From another perspective, similarities can also be seen between Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of the OZ books, and Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas, so there may be another connection there, but it's also not terribly likely."(source: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz website).

Scarecrow Crunch 

4 cups crunchy oatmeal cereal squares or Chex cereal
4 cups tiny twist pretzels
1 can salted peanuts
1 bag of autumn mix honey candy
1 bag of candy corn
2 cups peaunut butter M&M’s
2 (6-ounce) boxes caramel popcorn with nuts

1 (6.6) bag chocolate graham Teddy bears

source

Jack Skellington Cupcakes [source: spoonful disney blog]

A hat tip to Washington Irving, at the Magic Kingdom. [source]

Listen to The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Audio Book.  Or the radio archive on iTunes here.

Easy Decor/Activity/Party Favor

Miniature pumpkins can be colored in minutes with acrylic paints or permanent markers. The secret to their jewel-like sparkle is a finishing (polyurethane) glaze applied after the paint or ink has thoroughly dried.

source

book or treat 2: into the woods

2002 Broadway Revival Poster [source]  

Last October, I got such a great response for my "Book or Treat: Literary Pumpkins" post, I thought I'd delve into the world of literature again this year for some fun fall celebration ideas.  So step "Into the Woods" with me for some not-so-scary Halloween/Fall Woodland Party inspiration, costumes, and pumpkins.

Woodland Red Riding Hood Party
Inspiration: James Marshall's Red Riding Hood book.

So many choices - dress up as Red Riding Hood,
the wolf, or the Grandmother. [source:birds party blog]

Red Riding Hood and the Wolf
costumes [source: martha stewart]

Woodland Gnome Sweet Gnome Party
Inspiration: Wil Huygen's Gnomes book

Woodland Party table [source: nikkiikkin]

This fall birthday party is totally adaptable as a Halloween party
[source: tradewind tiaras blog]

Better Homes and Gardens Halloween issue 2012

Woodland Forest Children and Owls Party
Inspiration: Elsa Beskow's Children of the Forest book
(More Owl books here. Click here for more books by Elsa Beskow.)

Woodland Party table [source: simplified bee]

Toadstool cupcakes [source: parents.com]

"Mrs. Owl taught them the language of all that squeaks, swims, flies, or
runs.  She taught them to listen to the message of the wind, and to see
the approach of spring even before the first snowdrop".

Give a Hoot craft, made with cardboard t.p. tubes and
cupcake liners. [source: parents.com]

Owl Pumpkins [source: hostess with the mostess]

Woodland Friends Flower Party
Inspiration: Elsa Beskow's The Flowers' Festival book
(More Fairy books here. Click here for more books by Elsa Beskow.)

Better Homes and Garden's Special Interest fall issue 2012
fairy costume here

Leaf Fairy costume [source: martha stewart]

Rose Fairy costume [source: martha stewart]

lily of the valley costumes [source: martha stewart]

Acorn cookies: Hershey's kisses, mini Nilla Wafers,
and itty bitty peanut butter morsels [source: design dazzle]

Fairy Pinecone craft [source: red ted art's blog]

Pumpkin Fairy House [source:good housekeeping]

Looking for literary themed Halloween party ideas for preteens and teens?  Stay tuned...

ARE YOU READY FOR FALL?

"Autumn has caught us in our summer wear." 
- Philip Larkin, British poet (1922-1986)

Here in sunny Southern California, there are not yet many signs of the coming fall, but I have seen a growing number of black crows, getting ready for the pecans to fall from my backyard neighbor's huge tree.  And of course, Halloween merchandise is showing up everywhere.

Cover illustration for by Randolph Caldecott's Sing a Song for Sixpence (1880) - public domain.

This Saturday, September 22, marks the First Day of Autumn.  I noticed this shocking fact when I opened my pocket datebook yesterday, with the approaching equinox staring me in the face (equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night." The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the Sun crosses the celestial equator.)

When our kids were growing up, we liked to celebrate fall and fun on Halloween, without too much fright.  I've heard many families express the same desire, so I'm constantly on the look-out for fun versus frightening Halloween ideas for my blog (click HERE to see some of my past pumpkin posts).  This year, I'm really liking black birds, versus bats (stay tuned for a fun party idea coming up in October!)

Birds on a wire? Find these cute paper clips HERE.
(Comes with 8 blackbird clips on a 36" cord)

Here's a cute product I recently came across...a teacher used it on a bulletin board with fun photos, literary quotes, and fall poetry.

Reminds me of the well-known English nursery rhyme, Sing A Song Of Sixpence:

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds,
Baked in a pie.

My book recommendation for today?  A "haunting" quirky fable about crows and a snake:
The Crows of Pearblossom, by Aldous Huxley (yes, the author of Brave New World wrote a children's book)...how two silly crows - with the help of a wise owl - solve the problem of a hungry snake devouring their eggs is a tale of cleverness triumphing over greed.

Born in England and educated at Balliol College, Huxley relocated to Southern California with his family in 1937.  He wrote The Crows of Pearblossom for his niece, Olivia, in 1944 as a Christmas gift.  In 1967 it was published in a small-format edition (now out of print), illustrated by Barbara Cooney.

I ordered the new 2011 edition because I couldn't resist Sophie Blackall's wonderful illustrations!  Read a great overview/history of this picture book, HERE, and the NYTimes review "Aldous Huxley's Brave New Storybook", HERE.