The Watermelon Seed

Starred review from March 11, 2013
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.

April 1, 2013
A watermelon-loving crocodile worries over a swallowed seed in this balmy tale. Juicy endpapers of watermelon pink draw readers into this playful tale about a crocodile and his favorite fruit. Oh, how this friendly little croc adores his watermelon. But when he accidentally eats a seed, it's an emergency! The silly reptile frantically envisions the consequences of growing a melon inside one's belly, until his stomach responds. With a large belch, the seed is dislodged, and the croc happily swears off watermelon--until the next delectable slice. The illustrations, done in a graphic, flat-color style with simple linework, recall the cheerful stylings of Ed Emberley and Roger Hargreaves. While Pizzoli uses the computer to arrange his compositions, he takes extra care to hand print the pieces. Done in a three-color printing, the silk screen offers a toothiness to the page, giving fruit, animal and emotions more substance. However, the ingenuity of Pizzoli's work is in the making of the images, rather than in the story itself, which is about as substantial as, well, a piece of watermelon. A humorous vignette with deliciously bright colors that leap from the page. (Picture book. 3-5)

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Starred review from May 1, 2013

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

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