Common Sense Media Review
By Mandie Caroll
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Suspicious squirrel, missing pumpkins in fun seasonal tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In THE PUMPKIN THIEF, Squirrel and Bird grow marvelous pumpkins which begin disappearing every time Squirrel moves away to attend to a gardening task (or to munch on nuts). Determined not to lose his favorite pumpkin, he takes it along as he investigates clues about the missing pumpkins' whereabouts. And then he finds that Bird's missing, too. The only possibility? Of course, it has to be a pumpkin thief—who also took Bird!
Is It Any Good?
This cute autumnal story follows the same winning formula as other Leaf Thief books, delivering chuckles and groans as Squirrel draws misguided conclusions, this time about disappearing pumpkins. Bird's great at calming Squirrel down and showing Squirrel the wonders of gardening and fall, bringing to mind warm adult-child relationships. The small twist at the end is giggle-worthy and promises that Squirrel will be back to draw erroneous and hilarious conclusions in other seasonal stories. Observant readers young and old may wonder why Bird didn't just head off Squirrel's freak out by cuing Squirrel in on the pumpkin plan, but where's the fun in that?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Squirrel comes to the conclusion that The Pumpkin Thief has taken the gourds and Bird. He searches carefully for clues but still comes up with the wrong idea. When have you decided on something and then discovered you were wrong? How did it happen?
Do you like to decorate or carve pumpkins in the fall season or for Halloween? Why, or why not?
Squirrel says that gardening is hard work and it takes a long time for things to grow, but they're really happy when the pumpkins are fully grown. What's something that you've worked hard for but it was totally worth it? Why?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Nicola Slater
- Genre : Holiday
- Topics : Animals ( Wild Animals ) , STEM ( Nature ) , Friendship , Holidays ( Halloween )
- Character Strengths : Communication , Curiosity , Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
- Publication date : July 28, 2026
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 32
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 2, 2026
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