The topics cat, pumpkin, and mouse are delightfully intertwined in the featured storybook and calendar art activity!
Pumpkin Cat by Anne Mortimer
Reading the book Pumpkin Cat by Anne Mortimer gave me the idea for this calendar art activity. In the story two unlikely friends, (a cat and mouse), are paired. Cat wonders how pumpkins grow, and mouse shows the various stages of pumpkin growth. At the end of the story mouse carves out a jack-o-lantern as a surprise for cat. The last page of the book gives detailed instructions about how to grow a pumpkin.

Art Activity
For the art activity, children paint a pumpkin, using red, yellow and orange paint. Color mixing is a part of the fun. When dry, the pumpkin and a construction paper mouse are glued to a calendar picture featuring one or more cats. Preschoolers enjoy choosing which cat picture their pumpkin will be displayed on!
The assembled calendar art projects make a showy wall display.
For another book inspired art activity, view the Book Inspired Tree Art post.