Pumpkinhead
PreSchool-Grade 2-A perfect blend of art and text works together to convey the adventures  of a boy born "with a pumpkin for a head." A crafty flying bat plucks up Otho's head and explains  in rhyme why he drops it into the sea. After a large fish swallows it, an even larger squid  squeezes the fish, with Otho shooting out, "like a cork from a popgun." In excellent pacing, the  next page shows the pumpkin-head hero drifting at sea, then scooped up by a fisherman. Young  children are sure to enjoy the bouncing rhythm of the fisherman's words as he compares Otho to  all the other types of fish he has netted. Besides black and white, Rohmann consistently uses  shades of blue and patches of orange throughout. In this artwork, less is truly more. The  multiple-color relief prints done on an etching press, with large white space surrounding  smaller, movie-still-like pictures, enhance the visual appeal. In Otho's face, Rohmann captures  the vulnerable emotions of a lost child, and the wide smiles when returning to a mother's  embrace. Gather your little pumpkin heads close to you in the fall as you read them this tale and  watch their faces light up with a glowing grin.James K. Irwin, Poplar Creek Main Library, Steamwood, ILCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.