Best Kids’ Pumpkin Books To Read Before Visiting Patches In Miami

MIAMI, FL — An early fall visit to the biggest pumpkin patches and fields in or near Miami can only be enhanced with the best reads beforehand. Kids will be more enthused about picking out the perfect one for pumpkin carving with a better understanding of the pumpkin basics.

Here are some of the pumpkin patches in the Miami area:

• Flamingo Road Nursery, 1655 S. Flamingo Road in Davie, hosts its annual Fall Festival from the end of September to the first week of November. This 10-acre garden center transforms into a fall paradise with cornstalks, hay bales, mums, pumpkins, scarecrows and fall colors everywhere you look. Each week features a different theme, including Tomato Fest, Pepper Palooza and Tropical Fruit Celebration.
• Santa’s Garden, 9850 SW 24th Street in Miami, hosts is annual pumpkin patch Oct. 10-31 with free photoshoots, pumpkin carving pony rides, food trucks and more.
• Little Farm, 13401 SW 224th Street in Miami, hosts a fall pumpkin patch with pumpkins, pony rides, a petting farm, harvest market and more.
• Pinto’s Farm, 14890 SW 216th Street in Miami, hosts its annual pumpkin patch Sept. 25 to Oct. 31. Regular admission is $27.99 and includes one pumpkin, a pedal boat ride, a tractor ride, a pony ride, a walk-through to meet farm animals, a magic show and more.
• The Berry Farm, 13720 SW 216th Street in Miami, hosts an annual ongoing Harvest Festival during the fall and a Halloween Harvest Night event on Halloween weekend. Attractions include pumpkins, a corn maze, a tractor ride, games (including corn hole, tic-tac-toe, shuffleboard, and checkers), and a large jumping pillow.

KC Edventures, an organization that encourages children's learning through providing information on fun activities, has sorted out recommended fall reads for kids by genre and age group in its 2019 list of "12 perfect pumpkin books for kids."

The recommended reads include "From Seed to Pumpkin," which teaches the science behind how seeds grow; "The Pumpkin Book," detailing the growth of pumpkins; and "The Very Best Pumpkin," about a boy named Peter who finds and cares for a pumpkin all summer long.

Also On Patch: Pumpkin Patches Around Miami

Pumpkin books for kids with a Halloween theme include “Five Little Pumpkins On Halloween Night” and “You Are My Pumpkin,” according to a 2020 list from Scholastic.com.

Here are five of the other books on the list, all available for order on Amazon.

• Pumpkin Pumpkin, author and illustrator: Jeanne Titherington
• It's Pumpkin Time!, author: Zoe Hall; illustrator: Shari Halpern
• The Runaway Pumpkin, author: Kevin Lewis; illustrator: S.D. Schindler
• Pumpkin Soup, author and illustrator: Helen Cooper
• The Pumpkin Fair, author: Eve Bunting; illustrator: Eileen Christelow