Show Notes
Halloween is coming up soon, so this year I decided to write several different pumpkin poems. Out of all of them, this one quickly became one of my favorites.
One of the fun things about visiting a pumpkin patch is seeing how many different kinds of pumpkins there are. Some are tall, some are short, some are wide, some are skinny, and some have funny stems or unusual colors and stripes. When every pumpkin has something special about it, picking just one can be a lot harder than it sounds.
That was the idea behind this poem. I wanted to write something simple, playful, and a little bit silly about trying to choose the perfect pumpkin for Halloween. I hope it reminds you of a trip to a pumpkin patch of your own.
Pumpkin Problems
I’m searching for a pumpkin
at The Perfect Pumpkin Patch.
They have so many different kinds.
I can’t find two that match.
I want a jack-o’-lantern for
our house on Halloween.
I found one caked in tons of mud.
I found one squeaky clean.
I found a long and skinny one.
I found one short and wide.
I found a shiny orange one
with stripes along the side.
I found one with a curly stem.
I found one big and tall.
My mom said I could pick and so
I did.
I bought them all.
— Kenn Nesbitt
More from Poetry for Kids
When I was a kid, I had lots of toys, including toy cars, trucks, and airplanes. I loved imagining that they could go on incredible adventures, racing down highways, flying through the clouds, or speeding away from bad guys in daring escapes.
I only recently discovered just how popular squishy toys have become. These soft, stretchy, squeezable toys come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors, including cute animals, funny faces, and even pretend food. Kids love to squeeze them, stretch them, squish them, and watch them slowly return to their original shapes. They’re fun to play with, and squeezing them can even help some people relax or relieve stress.
Football season has just begun, and some members of my family are already enthusiastically watching the games and hoping their favorite team will make it to the Super Bowl again this year.
I wrote this poem because, here in the northern hemisphere, summer is almost over and fall will be here in just a few days. But, at least where I live, you wouldn’t necessarily know it from the weather. The days are still sunny and warm, and it still feels a lot like summer, even though I know the cooler autumn weather will be arriving before long.
My wife recently started a new job as a school picture day photographer. Every day when she comes home, she has interesting, and often funny stories about the people and things she photographed that day. She’s taken pictures of hundreds of students, of course, but she’s also photographed teachers, school staff, and even a principal’s dog!