Kids Books To Read Before Visit To Pumpkin Patch In Wilton

WILTON, CT — An early to mid-October visit to a pumpkin patch near Wilton can only be enhanced with a good beforehand read. The kids will be more enthused about picking out the perfect one for carving with a better understanding of pumpkin basics.

Below is a list of some of our favorite pumpkin patches near Wilton:

• Warrup's Farm, 11 John Read Road, Redding. "Join us weekends in October for pick-your-own pumpkins as we celebrate the harvest. Visit facebook for the latest updates."
• Silverman's Farm, 451 Sport Hill Road, Easton. Open 7 days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. "Residents from the tri-state area have been coming to the farm for many years to win a free pumpkin! Before purchase, every customer may guess the weight of each pumpkin before being brought to the scale. If the guess is within 2 oz. either way, the pumpkin is free regardless of size. We give away thousands of free pumpkins each year!"
• Harris Hill Farm, 106 Ridge Road, New Milford. Open weekends in October to the public. The much-loved trivia contests have been canceled this season, but the farm is offering free walks through the cornfields in addition to their traditional pick-your-own pumpkin activity.
• Jones Family Farms, 606 Walnut Tree Hill Road, Shelton. Weekend pumpkin picking tarts Sept. 26; reservations required. Weekday visits start Sept. 28; reservations required.
• Outhouse Orchards, 139 Hardscrabble Road, North Salem, NY. Weekdays the orchards are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and drop-ins are welcome, but it's a different policy for weekends and holidays. To "better control the large volume of visitors to the farm to ensure social distancing is maintained and CDC procedures are followed" the farm has implemented a reservation policy. You can book your weekend pumpkin-picking time online here.
• Castle Hill Farm, 25 Sugar Lane, Newtown. Maze and pumpkin picking starts Sept. 26: "As things will run by reservation only this year, which is a change for us all, please be patient as we finalize all details. Subscribe to our newsletter and we will update you as soon as we have things set in place. Thank you!"

KC Edventures, an organization that encourages children's learning through providing information on fun activities, has sorted out recommended kids fall reads by genre and age group in their 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.

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

• Pumpkin Pumpkin
• It's Pumpkin Time!
• The Runaway Pumpkin
• Pumpkin Soup
• The Pumpkin Fair