The Watermelon Seed

Classic kid fear: accidentally swallow a watermelon seed, and the result will be a botanical version of what the zombie virus does to folks in The Walking Dead: vines will come out of your ears, and pretty soon you'll turn pink and wind up a morsel in someone else's fruit salad. In this first book from Pizzoli, the goal isn't to assuage readers' fears, but he does defuse them with help from an adorable bug-eyed crocodile who's hooked on watermelon ("Ever since I was a teeny, tiny baby crocodile, it's been my favorite. CHOMP! SLURP! CHOMP!"). Pizzoli's ostensibly simple cartooning is actually quite clever: he plays with framing and scale to gently spoof the crocodile's horror-movie imaginings ("It's growing in my guts!"), while the limited but luscious palette (watermelon pink and green, of course) and a subtly pulpy texture make each spread good enough to eat. It's an expert debut, and one with a valuable lesson, to boot: a hearty burp can brighten even the darkest hour. Ages 3-5. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (May)

PreS-Gr 1--Children will love this hilarious book. Crocodile has devoured watermelon since babyhood and eats it every chance he gets. One day, however, he swallows a seed. This sends him into a panic. Will it grow inside him and come out of his ears? Will he grow larger and turn pink? The poor crocodile is so worried until he burps up the seed. He vows to never eat watermelon again, but will he be able to resist? The illustrations of the reptile's fear about what might happen to him are very funny and the oversize font on those pages reinforces the emotion in the story. The artwork was created by screen print in pink, green, black, and brown. This simplicity allows readers to fully appreciate the changes in the croc's facial expressions, which artfully contribute to the humor. The story has broad appeal, making it a great first purchase.--Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE