Children’s book is back in print
By Anthoyn Stoeckert, Packet Media Group
Way back in 1972, Anita Benarde published “The Pumpkin Smasher,” a picture book about a town where each Halloween, everyone’s pumpkins are mysteriously destroyed.
It was popular in its day, but like a lot of books, it went out of print and seemed to fade from memory.
Only this book wasn’t forgotten. Her grandson Zach did a Google search, and came across posts from people wondering why “The Pumpkin Smasher” wasn’t available. And apparently there were parents out there who wanted to share the book with their kids, as copies of the 40-year-old story were selling for $50 to $100 online.
”He was in shock and so was I,” Ms. Benarde says. “People really wanted that book and they couldn’t find it. And the places they could find it were charging huge amounts for it.”
It was then that Zach told her she had to reissue it. She tried to find a publisher, but didn’t hear back from them. Wanting to get it in stores — and readers’ hands — in time for Halloween, Ms. Benarde went the self-publishing route.
”I decided to publish it myself and make it available to everybody,” she says. “It just takes too long to get a book published these days, it’s next to impossible.”
The book is for sale at Jordan’s in the Princeton Shopping Center, and at Amazon.com.
”The Pumpkin Smasher” takes place in a town called Cranbury. Ms. Benarde says the town is actually Princeton, but she thought Cranbury had a more autumn-like sound to it. The town’s residents are proud of their Halloween pumpkins, so the destruction of their orange gourds really puts a damper on everyone’s autumn.
Two kids in town, known as the terrible Turner twins, hatch a plan to paint a giant rock like a pumpkin, so that the smasher will attack the rock, which is un-smashable.
The book’s story is somewhat based on real events, as Ms. Benarde remembers a night where the pumpkins on the Princeton cul-de-sac she lives on were smashed. She also remembers Halloween back then, when kids had to earn their candy by singing and dancing, and that the adults got dressed in costumes as well. People gave out apples (a no-no these days, treats must be wrapped), and even put peeled grapes in bags so that it would have a “yucky” feel to it.
Another notable thing about a book published in the 1970s, according to Ms. Benarde, is that one of the children in the story is African American. Authors like Ezra Jack Keats wrote picture books with African American characters, such as “The Snowy Day,” but a story with kids of different races in it was noteworthy back then. But Ms. Benarde says she wasn’t trying to make a statement. It just reflected Princeton.
Another lesson the author and illustrator says the book holds involves bullying, as she points out that the book is about a community that works together to conquer a bully.
Ms. Benarde is a founding member of the Princeton Artists Alliance, and has exhibited in many galleries in the area. She wrote other books, including one about a plane that wanted to ride a boat, as well as books for the American Library of Design.
The return of “The Pumpkin Smasher” has led to her getting some fan feedback.
”I just got a letter recently from a teacher in Iowa, and she said, ‘Yay, now I can read it to my first-grade class,’” Ms. Benarde says.
And who knows? The kids who are getting “The Pumpkin Smasher” this year, might save those copies for their kids.
”That’s what happened before and it just might happen again,” Ms. Benarde says, adding of the adults who are buying now: “These are people who read it and associate it with their parents or with a wonderful teacher.”
When asked her age, Ms. Benarde says she’s an octogenarian, and shares her reason for not getting more specific.
”If I tell people how old I am, then they start lifting everything for me.”
“The Pumpkin Smasher” is available for sale at Jordan’s in the Princeton Shopping Center, 301 N. Harrison St. in Princeton. It’s also available online at www.amazon.com