This exuberant, kinetic picture book gleefully celebrates smashing and composting your Halloween jack-o-lantern instead of throwing it away.

Tee it up and take a swing . . .

Launch it from a sling . . .

Climb up high and let it drop . . .

Turn it into pumpkin slop!

Instead of dumping rotting jack-o-lanterns in the trash, award-winning picture book author Michelle Schaub invites readers to take them to a pumpkin smash! Stomping and squashing pumpkins into compost helps them to decompose—providing nutrients for the soil, seeds for next year’s harvest, and plenty of post-Halloween fun. With lively, lyrical text and Rilla Alexander’s bright, beguiling illustrations, Pumpkin Smash is an upbeat and playful celebration of Halloween—and a call to action to reduce landfill waste and support local ecosystems.

About the Author: 

Michelle Schaub is a teacher and an award-winning children’s author, most recently of A Place for Rain. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Rilla Alexander is an award-winning children’s author, illustrator, and graphic designer. She lives in Los Angeles, California.