31 Days of Amazing Kids' Books

31 Days: A little soup for a chilly evening

Pumpkin Soup

Fall arrived with a vengeance today in Atlanta, so I thought I’d share a book to warm you up a little bit. Pumpkin Soup, by Helen Cooper, is more a story about friendship than soup. (Nonetheless, the soup plays an important role. If you’re like me, you really like pumpkin soup, so that alone is enough to get you to read the story.)

In this tale, each of the three animal characters (Cat, Duck, and Squirrel) has a job to do to prepare the meals. One day, the duck decides to disrupt the accepted order of things, and a ruckus ensues. Very angry, the duck leaves, and says he’ll never return. At first, the cat and squirrel don’t believe him, but when he doesn’t return by nightfall, they begin to worry. They leave to search for him, but find nothing. When they get back to their house, Duck is there, and they promise to show more appreciation for him in the future. Of course, they also make a celebratory pot of pumpkin soup, with Duck being allowed a more involved role than in the past.

I highly recommend using this book in a classroom situation if some students are starting to feel left out of a given activity or the classroom at large. It’s a good conversation starter for both sides, as the “left out” child can recognize his/her real contributions, and the people doing the “leaving out” can understand how to appreciate the gifts everyone brings to the group. At home, it’s helpful when one little girl likes to keep her sister from doing the “fun” jobs. (Ahem.)

Helen Cooper has two additional books written in a similar vein. I have not had as much experience with them, but if you have used either A Pipkin of Pepper or Delicious!, I would love to hear your thoughts.

{Those book links? Yes, they are affiliate links.}

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