What do Pig the Pug, Jabba the Hutt, Fox in Socks and Arthur have in common?
Not only are they familiar fictional characters, they’re also pumpkins.
Seward Elementary second graders choose their favorite characters every fall and turn them into pumpkins, which are displayed in the school library.
“It’s become a tradition,” librarian Jennifer Flemings said. “We want to celebrate the love of literature and art.”
Every grade level makes some kind of literacy display for the library. Kindergartners make book characters out of two-liter bottles. First graders create puppets. Third graders make haiku tunnel books, and fourth graders put together a parade of character balloons based on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade called Balloons Over Broadway.
Flemings got the pumpkin idea from another librarian, and the Storybook Pumpkin Patch was born. Students use a plastic pumpkin as the basis for their character. Flemings said she encourages families to be creative and not spend much on the project.
Pictures of the students with their creations are shared on the school’s social media pages, Flemings said.
“There’s a really wide variety of characters,” she said.
From classics like Dr. Seuss to more modern favorites like Mo Willems, the pumpkins are as varied as the students.
“It can be whatever they love to read,” Flemings said. “Some are elaborate. Some are simple. It’s fun to see how people can be creative.”
This year’s pumpkins featured more modern characters, although Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss did get a nod.
The project is not required for the students, Flemings said. This year, SES has 96 second graders with 42 participating in the pumpkin project.
Flemings said she loves hearing the students’ stories when they bring in their pumpkins.
