The Ugly Pumpkin: A Thanksgiving Story

"The Ugly Pumpkin" by Dave Horowitz is a picture book for early readers (reading level 2.3) that retells the classic "The Ugly Duckling" story with a pumpkin as the main character. The story follows an odd-shaped pumpkin who waits through October at a pumpkin patch but is never chosen for Halloween because he looks different from the other pumpkins. Feeling lonely, he leaves the patch in search of a place where he belongs, and by Thanksgiving he discovers the truth about his identity. The book is intended for children in grades K-3 and is suitable for reading during the fall season.