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Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pies



Last updated Thursday, September 22, 2005

Author: Mark Kimball Moulton
Illustrator: Karen Hillard Crouch
Date of Publication: 2001
ISBN: 0741208652
Grade Level: 1st    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Oct. 2005

Synopsis: At Halloween, all the neighborhood children look forward to eating the delicious pumpkin pies made by Fiona, an old woman who reminds them of a witch.

Discussion topics for before reading:
•  Who do you think Miss Fiona is?
•  Does she look nice or mean?
•  What do you think is the name of the black cat on the cover?
•  What does stupendous mean?
•  Are you going to dress up for Halloween? As what?
•  How do you think a witch would act?

Discussion topics for during/after reading:
•  What do you think of Miss Fiona so far? Does she act like you would expect a witch to act?
•  When the book says ?appearances aren?t always what they seem,? what does that mean?
•  Would you want to go to Miss Fiona?s for Halloween?
•  What do you think is in Miss Fiona?s pumpkin pie recipe?
•  What else could you bake with pumpkins?

Craft ideas:
•  Make up a recipe for stupendous pumpkin pie with the ingredients a witch would use, and decorate.
•  Make paper bats that look like the bats in the book.
•  Make a jack-o-lantern (either color or cut out shapes and glue) with curly stems (folding or curling paper for 3-D effect.

Special activities:
•  The story has a lot of great sound effects written into it. Read the story aloud again, and have the children do the sound effects from the words when you point to them.

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!