THE WATERMELON VENDOR

Name: THE WATERMELON VENDOR
Author: Lizardo Carajal

by Lizardo Carajal ; illustrated by Lizardo Carajal ; translated by Renée Purdy ; developed by Juan David Saab ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 22, 2012

Sweet and soothing on a quick pass, but closer attention just reveals a confusing jumble.

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A tender, incoherent childbirth tale much in need of further editorial and design work.

A watermelon seller lovingly pats his wife’s swelling belly before going off to work. He then spins a news item about a Japanese researcher who has developed cubical melons into a story about a man born round. The man in the watermelon vendor’s story is so effectively forced into the mold of his square world that he’s later shocked, like his square wife, to learn that “their seeds, like watermelon seeds, will always produce round humans and round watermelons.” Though the narrating vendor admits that his daughter “will be added to the national population statistics as a little square,” he closes with the assertion that “our circle has grown” with her birth. Looking like paper dolls in the illustrations, cartoon figures nod, gesture and sometimes slide across simply drawn backgrounds as soothing music tinkles loudly enough to, at times, almost drown out the optional narration. As if the patchwork story isn’t distraction enough, there are several typos, along with page turns that frequently require multiple swipes to respond. Furthermore, though the text is available in eight languages, the audio narration only comes in two; rather than being linked, the audio options and the printed text must be set separately to match.

Sweet and soothing on a quick pass, but closer attention just reveals a confusing jumble. (iPad storybook app. 5-8)

Pub Date: Dec. 22, 2012

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: LuaBooks

Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013

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OTIS

From the Otis series

by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009

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Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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OTIS AND THE SCARECROW
by Loren Long ; illustrated by Loren Long

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AN OTIS CHRISTMAS
by Loren Long ; illustrated by Loren Long

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OTIS AND THE PUPPY
by Loren Long ; illustrated by Loren Long

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NEVER FORGET ELEANOR
by Jason June ; illustrated by Loren Long

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CHANGE SINGS
by Amanda Gorman ; illustrated by Loren Long

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SOMEONE BUILDS THE DREAM
by Lisa Wheeler ; illustrated by Loren Long

- SEEN & HEARD
Loren Long Inks Book Deal With Roaring Brook Press

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THE WATER PRINCESS

by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...

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An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.

Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)