PATTY'S PUMPKIN PATCH

Doggerel rhymes and brightly colored acrylic paintings celebrate the birds, insects, and animals that visit Patty’s pumpkin patch from seeding time to harvest, in this story from Sloat (Farmer Brown Goes Round and Round, p. 306, etc.). A large illustration appears with a rhyming couplet, while an alphabet of creatures runs along the bottom margins with an accompanying thumbnail drawings, from A for “ant” to Z for “zebra butterfly.” The book has the look of a picture book from the 1950s, filled with generic animals, flora more decorative than authentic, and Patty in her red Keds and granny glasses. Still, the cycle of the growing season, pumpkins in eye-popping orange, and the abundant wildlife on every page will appeal to children. (Picture book. 4-7)