Monday, August 11, 2014

Book Review :: My Happy Pumpkin (God's Love Shining Through Me) by Crystal Bowman, illustrated by Claudine Gevry

My Happy Pumpkin by Crystal Bowman is a children's board book, written in rhyme.  The board book is shaped (cut out around the pumpkins and flower on the cover). 
The story is sweet - following a father and son as they plant, pick, carve, and light a pumpkin. The author emphasizes obedience as a way to show our love to God and as a way to show God's love and light shining through us (which ties in with the story of the lit up pumpkin). 

Because some may be curious - I thought I should mention that nowhere in the book does it specifically mention Halloween or depict any scary/Halloween images. It does, however, show a carved (jack-o'-lantern style) pumpkin.

Also, I thought it was worth mentioning that the book does mention God washing away the sins of the child (spoken by the child). I know there are differing ideas on sins and children, so I thought it would be best to point that out for those who might be curious.

The illustrations are cute and colorful and each image covers a two-page spread. The cute mouse shown on the cover pops up on almost every page - I like repetitive images like that in children's books so that I can prompt the child I am reading with to find the image on each page. 

All in all, I think My Happy Pumpkin is a cute book with an overall good message. Although I don't think it will be one of our top favorites, I will still enjoy reading this with little ones. 
FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

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