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Pumpkin Soup

pumpkin soup coverHelen Cooper                                         
Corgi Books
Age 5-7

An award-winning picture book about three friends who fall out. Cat, Duck and Squirrel live happily together, making music and delicious pumpkin soup, until duck decides to stir the soup and, instead, stirs up trouble. The wonderful illustrations encourage children to talk about the story and explore the emotions involved in resolving arguments between friends.

Find this book of the month at your local library or bookshop or buy online here.

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Share the story

Read aloud
Read the story aloud, talking together about the pictures as you do. Talking about the book deepens children’s enjoyment and understanding of the story.

Join in
Read the story again leaving spaces for children to join in with the story.

Tell the story
By hearing the story a few times, children will get to know it well. Encourage them tell it to you in their own words, and some from the story, using the pictures to help them.

Listen to the story


From Detti H

 

Things to make and do

Storyplay
Children can use animal toys for Cat, Duck and Squirrel to act out the story. It’s a really good way for them to get to know the story well and helps to build their confidence with books.

Make pumpkin soup
Be like Cat, Duck and Squirrel by making and eating pumpkin soup together – see here for pumpkin soup recipe.

Make a pumpkin mask
Use a circle of orange paper (or paint it orange) large enough to make a face mask. Children can cut gold or black paper shapes to stick on their design, cutting holes for eyes, mouth and to tie string to hold them on.

Make a pumpkin lantern
The mask can provide a source of inspiration for a pumpkin lantern design which can be cut into a pumpkin. Talk about the pumpkin as you make the lantern, the smell, the feel and how it looks both inside and out.

Plant  seeds
Children can plant the leftover pumpkin seeds in a pot or the garden. They can take charge of watering regularly and make drawings to chart the growth of the seeds over time.

Find out more

Helen Cooper’s website includes teaching ideas linked to Pumpkin Soup and the other books in the series A Pipkin of Pepper and Delicious! 

Other books by Helen Cooper include:

The Bear Under the Stairs

Little Monster Did It!

The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go To Bed

Dog Biscuit

Find out how to carve a pumpkin here.