Towamensing Elementary has taken the classic jack-o’-lantern to a new level, encouraging creativity and an interest in literature with a book-themed pumpkin decorating contest.

Librarian Kristin Heller came up with the idea of a pumpkin decorating contest based on books, adding an educational twist to the Halloween season.“I actually found the idea online,” Heller said. “I’ve been here at the library for four years, and this is something I’ve really wanted to do since the beginning.”Initially, she expected a few submissions that would cover some popular characters. In the end, everyone was overwhelmed with the 104 pumpkins, with subjects ranging from classics like Dr. Seuss to new series like Pete the Cat, all of which were displayed throughout the library, perched atop the bookshelves from one end of the room to the other.“I was very pleased with the number of entries we got, and the creativity. I was happy with the involvement of the families,” Heller said.Students were permitted to paint, but not carve, the pumpkins and decorate them with craft items. Some books and characters inspired quite a few entries.“We definitely got quite a few Pete the Cat, that was a big one,” Heller said. “A few Harry Potters, and I would say ‘Elephant and Piggy.’ We got some classics, too, like ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and Kermit the Frog.”Both students and faculty were allowed to vote for their favorites in three categories, with the winners announced on Friday morning.Rylee King, 7, won the kindergarten through second grade category for her Pikachu pumpkin, with Piper Johnson, 7, taking second place for her Rudolph pumpkin. Lilly Stein, 9, won in the third and fourth grade category for her Pigeon pumpkin, from “Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog,” with Keira Peppard, 8, taking second place for her “Charlotte’s Web” pumpkin. Ian Everett, 11, tied with Alysa Roe, 11, for the winner of the fifth and sixth grade category. Everett made a Mother Goose gourd, and Roe made Olaf the snowman from “Frozen” out of a pair of pumpkins.The kids of Towamensing had a great time decorating their pumpkins, with some drawing decoration inspiration from the pumpkins themselves.“It was fun. I got to choose whatever gourd I wanted to. And when I saw the one I used, the first thing that came to my mind was a goose, so I decided to do her, a lesser-known storybook character,” Everett said.Others chose character designs that other kids would recognize, hoping to stimulate an interest in reading.“I picked ‘Frozen’ because I thought that it would be a fun adventure to go through, creating the snowman. I also thought it would be fun for the little kids to see Olaf, because they like that movie. It was really fun, because there was a lot of different things to do with it, and I could decorate it however I wanted. It shows people all the exciting adventures you can do, and all the exciting characters you can read about,” Roe said.Stein was drawn in by the humor of “Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog,” and how that can inspire creativity.“It’s a very funny book, and it’s a good children’s book,” Stein said. “It shows kids how good books are, and how they can promote your imagination. It was really fun because I got to paint my pumpkin, and I usually don’t get to paint that much, and I had a lot of fun painting.”Heller looks forward to holding the contest again, though she may wait a year or two so that there are more fresh entries.“I think I may do it again, every other year, or every three years,” Heller said. “But, for the sake of creativity, not annually, just so they can get some new ideas and we don’t see repeats. This will give the kids time to develop new interests, read new books and find new favorites.”