Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices - Hardcover

Schwartz, David M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1939547032 ISBN 13: 9781939547033

Publisher: Creston Books, 2013

Synopsis

Compost won't mean the same thing after readers have seen the amazing transformation of Jack from grinning pumpkin to mold-mottled wreckage to hopeful green shoot. The story of decomposition is vividly told so that science comes to life (and death). Part story, part science, and a whole lot of fun. Features a teacher guide in the back of the book, and additional material (including instructions on how to put on a Rotten Pumpkin play in your school) are on the Creston and Author websites.

About this title

Review:

"Grossly interesting!! Schwartz takes us on another fascinating journey in science."
Penny Glackman, Excellence in Science Teaching Award Winner

"An enlightening tale of nature's recycling process. It's amazing how much life a rotting pumpkin supports and how many children will be delighted and disgusted!"
Vicki Cobb, author of more than 80 science books for kids

A quick and icky guide to decomposition and the organisms that actually do the "dirty" work. This is a simple, fun, yet informative book that would be handy in any science classroom! I loved the penicillin part!”
Ian Lesser, science teacher and curriculum writer

"Moldy splendor!"
 Betsy Bird, New York Public Library

Gr 1-4 Schwartz meticulously tracks the life cycle of a pumpkin/jack-o'-lantern as it decays and eventually gives birth to new pumpkins. The gross-out factor is high, as each of the rodents, insects, molds, fun...gi, etc., do their respective jobs. For example, the fly states: You're gonna love hearing how I eat. I vomit on the pumpkin flesh. My vomit dissolves pumpkin nutrients so I can lap them up.” Fifteen different organisms describe their role in the eventual demise of this jack-o'-lantern. The photography is sharp and clear, and effectively ramps up the eww” element. A few concerns might be the occasional use of the vernacular, as in the aforementioned gonna,” and some younger children could be upset about the fate of their carefully carved pumpkins. Jack's plaintive voice is heard now and then: Where once I smiled and winked, now fungi ring my mouth and eyes. A cheerful jack I am no more.” Schwartz includes some suggestions for classroom investigations, and they would be a wonderful vehicle for scientific explorations.
 School Library Journal

"A gorgeous, colorful picture book perfect for elementary or middle school science classes, especially post-Halloween. The photos are absolutely beautiful!"
 Mrs. Readerpants, review

"Rotten Pumpkin is not for the faint of heart and I suspect that kids will love it! It has lots of colorful photographs showing the different types of animals that feed on the pumpkin as well as the various molds that can appear as the pumpkin begins to disintegrate. In addition to the photos, there are detailed (yet easy-to-understand) descriptions of how the molds grow and how the pumpkin eventually turns into a new green shoot!

Rotten Pumpkin really is an educational look at decomposition and I think teachers might appreciate this book. I can certainly see how valuable it would be in explaining some science concepts and there is even a glossary in the back of the book along with some ideas for classroom investigations.

I can't think of another book quite like Rotten Pumpkin, but I do appreciate the subject matter and how it's presented. I can pretty much guarantee that this picture book will keep the kids' interest!"
 Booking Mama

Kirkus Reviews Starred Review:
Carving a pumpkin for Halloween is a beloved tradition, but all too soon, that gourd falls prey to a host of scary, gross and unbelievably fascinating creatures.

Leave it to Schwartz and Kuhn (What in the Wild: Mysteries of Nature Concealed and Revealed, 2010) to combine their considerable talents again to create a page-turning title on decomposition. The author boldly chooses to give voice to the various decomposers that visit old Jack. Readers hear from animals, mold, fungi, rot, bacteria and, periodically, from the pumpkin itself. The photographs zoom in for close-ups of the characters in this slightly horrific performance. Fuzzy Penicillium, slime mold and spore cases that look like tiny red balloons” all gruesomely impress. Readers learn more than just how slugs, flies, worms and sow bugs feast on the former jack-o’-lantern. Time and weather play their parts, too. One seed waits as the animals came, the molds grew, the pumpkin collapsed into a heap of goo .” When the spring rains come, it begins pushing roots downward and stem upward. If all goes well, my flowers will form fruit.” A glossary follows, further describing the unfamiliar terms introduced in the text, and a page devoted to Classroom Investigations” suggests ways to engage in the scientific method and conduct experiments with pumpkins.

An ecology lesson, an inspiration for readers’ theater or a compelling read all on its own. (Nonfiction. 5-12)
 Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
What’s scarier than a grinning jack-o’-lantern? How about what happens to it after Halloween? . . . The inventive concept combines a Halloween theme with science that readers can easily replicate if they have the stomach for it. Ages 4 12. 
Publishers Weekly

From the opening disclaimer of No animals, molds, or fungi were harmed in the making of this book, but some pumpkins got pretty mushy,” the tone is set for a decompositional journey so fun, kids won’t realize they are being educated about consumer-resource systems!. . . Never did I think I would read a book containing the word plasmodium” and have such a blast! Librarians and teachers, know this: the yucky images will have the kids yelling gross” while they rapidly devour the book and have you grinning like a jack-o’-lantern because you slipped in an ecological food chain lesson! Highly and rottenly recommended for ages 8 to 11.
 Becky Walton, MLIS, Collection Development, Ingram Library Services: News and Reviews

This is the perfect book to introduce an ecosystem that is self contained, or to explain how nature is dependent on various life forms.. . This is a quick recycling story that kids will love because it is so icky! Children will be disgusted and grossed out and read it again and again.”
 Jennifer Szoch, Reviewer

Icky Gross Fun! As a school librarian, I have learned that gross out factor can have great appeal for a book and this one does not disappoint. . .
This book was wonderfully informative and excellently grotesque at the same time. Then at the back it even includes a glossary and classroom investigation suggestions that you can try. 5/5 stars.”
 Melissa Williams, school librarian

I loved the photos and the idea of telling the story through the viewpoints of different decomposers. This is a topic our third graders study and I can just imagine my boys loving the "gross" photos. I can see a teacher easily using this with a group of students in a variety of ways. They could create a KWL chart about what happens to a pumpkin after Halloween. The end of the book suggests science experiments students can work on themselves using pumpkins. This text offers new vocabulary and provides the right amount of picture support to illustrate the concepts. The book includes a glossary for additional vocabulary support. Thanks for sharing this book with me.”
 Gale Lewis, elementary school teacher

Our 7th grade science standards include understanding decomposers, and this is the simplest, most beautifully visual book on this topic I've ever seen."
 Monique German, middle school teacher

"A gorgeous, colorful picture book perfect for elementary or middle school science classes, especially post-Halloween. The photos are absolutely beautiful!"
 Leigh Collazo, school librarian

Wow! Loved how David Schwartz made rotting pumpkin flesh informative bad fun. Kids will love the Ick factor. Teachers will appreciate the opportunity for science investigation and discussion. Well-done!”
 Susan Thacker-Gwaltney, Educator

"A dynamic mix of story and nonfiction, this book follows the life of a pumpkin. He has his shining moment as a jack-o-lantern lit for Halloween, but then is put into the compost. That is where the story gets interesting. First he is chewed on by mice, squirrels, slugs and vomited on by flies. Now he looks a lot different and has fungi growing. The various molds introduce themselves, explaining what they do, including the fascinating Penicillium. Sow bugs, earthworms, slime mold and yeast work on the pumpkin too. It is left as just a pile of seeds and little else. Until spring arrives!

Schwartz shows readers just how fascinating science is with his in-depth descriptions of the decomposition process. Children will adore the explanation of how flies taste and eat, the process of earthworm poop, and all of the molds seen up close. But this book goes far beyond the gross and takes the reader right through the entire process, detailing it with interesting moments throughout.

The photographs by Kuhn are particularly useful in a book like this. Capturing the changing face of the pumpkin as it molds over adds real interest visually to the title. At the same time, the close up images of yeasts and slime mold are grossly gripping.

Perfect for autumn and Halloween, this book will have kids looking at their slumping pumpkins with new eyes. Appropriate for ages 6-9."
 Waking Brain Cells Review

You’ve got to love a book that grosses you out as much as this one does. . . Award-winning author David Schwartz matches his nerdy science know-how with his keen sense of humor to create this very educational and entertaining book, while science and nature photographer, Dwight Kuhn works magic on the spectacular close-up images. . . What a brilliant and inventive idea for a book!
SmartBooksforSmartKids reviews

"I bought Rotten Pumpkin - gave it to one of the librarians and haven't seen it since. Have a feeling it is the best science book for kids to come out in quite a while."
Kathleen West, retired elementary school principal

"Who says the scariest Halloween books for kids are strictly fictional? With Rotten Pumpkin you’ve all the thrills of a typical horror story, laden with facts along the way. The hero at the top of his game. The downfall. The insidious, frankly disgusting, forces that eat away at him until he’s nothing left but a blackened husk of his former self. Oh, it’s thrilling stuff. With applications in the classroom, in the home, and on the stage, there’s nowhere this rotting corpse of a pumpkin doesn’t belong. So this holiday season don’t bother handing the kids yet another copy of Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark when they beg you for child-friendly horror fare. Just load them down with a little Rotten Pumpkin. Guaranteed to make hypochondriacs out of even the stiffest souls."
Fuse #8 Review, School Library Journal

Each photo in the book is simply amazing. A great title for those interested in the processes of decomposition/composting and food chains.
Review, One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books

This is a perfect example of how the Common Core State Standards open up reading and learning. It is not just about reading and experimenting. Skills are developed when a child shares what s/he learns with others through speaking and writing themselves. And these are just the literacy skills. The demise of the pumpkin is an opportunity for kids to learn how other living things use it for sustenance . . .Kids have strong feelings about Halloween. A teachable moment takes advantage of strong emotions to lead a child into real learning. It is something every great teacher recognizes and relishes, dropping whatever else is going on at that time to produce some profound learning. Rotten Pumpkin is a real-life look at the natural processes of degradation and decay that transforms the initial feelings of disgust and abhorrence into fascination and intrigue.
--Huffington Post

Kuhn’s astonishing, intimate photography brings the reader deep into the realm of decomposers. Schwartz’ text gives voice and clarity to a non-fiction book that in turn reads like a funny, gross and exciting tale. A concise glossary and a page of classroom investigations are included, teaching the scientific method and suggesting experiments. This one’s a winner.
-- Parenting on the Peninsula

Brilliant photos accompany this fascinating, well-written, concise journey through the different phases of a rotting pumpkin. Author Schwartz’s approach is super-friendly and the book is written much more like a story than a science book.
--Greatest Books for Kids

"A shining example of what we can hope to expect from other offerings supportive of the new Common Core standards."
-- ACL 2013 Distinguished Book (Association of the Children's Librarians of Northern California

"UnCommon Core at its best!"
--Carol Simon Levin, librarian and blogger


"Of all the strange things growing on this pumpkin, I am the strangest. I am a slime mold. I started as a single cell, tumbling through the soil. Every once in a while I divided in half so there were two of 'me.' Soon there were lots and lots of us. Then we did the oddest thing: we joined to become one living creature that spread out in squiggly yellow arms like a net." from the book

About the Author:

David Schwartz is the author of over 50 math and science books, including many popular titles such as How Much is a Million?, G is for Googol and If You Hopped Like a Frog. His math and science presentations have delighted students in over 1,000 schools in almost every state and many foreign countries. With Dwight Kuhn, David produced Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed and Revealed, which won the SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Literature and the Animal Behavior Society's Outstanding Children's Book Award. He lives in Oakland, CA. Dwight Kuhn has illustrated more than 140 children's books on nature and biology with his brilliant photographs. His images have also appeared in major magazines and textbooks. Dwight was one of ten photographers featured in Susan Rayfield's Wildlife Photography: The Art and Technique of Ten Masters. He lives in Maine.

About this edition

• Publisher: Creston Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1939547032
• ISBN 13: 9781939547033
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32