Little LeafLibrary
Create a picture book ↗
LITTLE LEAF LIBRARY · A free, open bookshelf

A little leaf.
A world of stories.

From first sounds to first independent reads.
Find a story to share, then print it and bring it home.

Discover a story ↗
✓ Chinese & English stories✓ Free to read✓ Download & print
✳
Featured story illustration
Start with a little story today.
Let’s read ↗❧
AI picture-book studio

Love a good story? Create your own.

Bring your imagination to our picture-book creation platform.

Visit the story studio ↗Opens in a new tab
GROW WITH STORIES

Stories for every stage of growing up

Choose by age and reading confidence.

Ages are our editorial suggestions, not publisher ratings. Reading abilities vary.

A STORY FOR EVERY LITTLE READER

Find your next favorite book

Loading stories…
FROM SCREEN TO LITTLE HANDS

Make stories part of life.
Take them home, too.

Explore together on screen, or turn a few sheets of paper into a storybook of your own.

01

Find a story your child loves

Age is a starting point; interest matters most. Let children pick an illustration and describe what they see.

02

Read together, then talk

Turn pages online and switch between Chinese and English. Every book includes a conversation prompt.

03

Print the whole story with credits

Choose “Print book” in the reader. Use A4 landscape, fit to page, and disable headers and footers. You can also print the original PDF.

OPEN BOOKS, CLEAR CREDITS

Free stories. Credit where it belongs.

Each reading page records its creators, source and applicable license or public-domain declaration. Most books use CC BY; one catalogue entry carries a publisher Public Domain Mark declaration. Check the individual edition before sharing, adapting or reusing it. Site layouts and synthetic narration are described separately.

Books come from Book Dash, African Storybook / Storybooks Canada and Pratham Books. Source and language details vary by edition. Age, theme and reading prompts are editorial suggestions. Little Leaf is independent of these organizations.

Chinese story collection ↗About CC BY 3.0 ↗About CC BY 4.0 ↗
YOUR READING MOMENTS

Reader feedback

← Back to the bookshelfDownload printable edition

The Pumpkin Chase

Oh no, the naughty pumpkin pie thief is running away with Miss Sunflower’s pie! Will you help to catch the crook?

Suggested age: 4–6岁 · Reading level L2 · 17 illustrated pages

The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 1, English text included

Read and listen

This book can be read page by page, heard with synthetic Voice 7 narration, downloaded and printed. Enable JavaScript for the interactive reader, or open the story pages below.

Oh no, the naughty pumpkin pie thief is running away with Miss Sunflower’s pie! Will you help to catch the crook?

Read all 17 story pages
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 1, English text included
The Pumpkin Chase
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 2, English text included
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 3, English text included
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 4, English text included
Miss Sunflower is crying. "A thief just stole my pumpkin pie! Now what will I have for dinner?" she sobs.
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 5, English text included
"Don’t cry Miss Sunflower. We will find your pumpkin pie," said Officer Zig. "We will catch that crook!" said Officer Zag.
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 6, English text included
"Look! There he goes!" said Officer Zig. "Catch that crook!" said Officer Zag.
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 7, English text included
"I’m too fast and you’re too slow. You will never catch the pumpkin pie thief!" cried the crook.
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 8, English text included
They chased him Up the hill... ...but the crook was too quick. "I'm too fast and you're too slow. You will never catch the pumpkin pie thief!"
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 9, English text included
They chased him down the riverbank but the crook rolled away. "I’m too fast and you’re too slow. You will never catch the pumpkin pie thief!"
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 10, English text included
They chased him under the bridge but the crook swam away. "I’m too fast and you’re too slow. You will never catch the pumpkin pie thief!"
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 11, English text included
They chased him OVer the fires... ...but the crook jumped too high. "I'm too fast and you're too slow. You will never catch the pumpkin pie thief!"
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 12, English text included
They chased him around the tree but they could not catch the crook. "I’m too fast and you’re too slow. You will never catch the pumpkin pie thief!"
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 13, English text included
Officer Zig and Officer Zag did not give up. They ran and ran and ran until... SPLAT! They chased him right into a wall!
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 14, English text included
"Hurray! We caught the crook!" said the cops.
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 15, English text included
Officer Zig and Officer Zag returned the pumpkin pie to Miss Sunflower. "Thank you very much," said Miss Sunflower. Dinner time!
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 16, English text included
The Pumpkin Chase — original illustrated page 17, English text included

Creators and open license

Written by
Smangaliso Simelane
Illustrated by
Amy-Jane Harkess
Created by
Smangaliso Simelane (Writer); Carol Kagezi (Editor); Amy-Jane Harkess (Illustrator)

Source: Book Dash
Original: The Pumpkin Chase from Book Dash
License: CC BY 4.0

Original illustrated spreads and embedded English story text preserved; website layout and printable PDF assembled by Little Leaf. Age, level, theme and recommendation are editorial suggestions. Web and printable layout adapted by Little Leaf. Age and reading-level suggestions are editorial. Original stories and artwork belong to their credited creators. Website narration uses the selected synthetic Voice 7.