Watermelon Pool

In Lune’s frolicsome picture book variation on a common summer diversion, two halves of a split watermelon offer the residents of a rural community the perfect spot to take a dip. Beneath a “blazing summer sun,” a ripening melon opens (“CRACK”), ushering in “opening day at the watermelon pool.” Setting a tall ladder alongside the melon, a comparatively diminutive human figure climbs up, then wades in—removing a black seed to reveal a juicy, ruby-red place to relax. Soon, children sporting swimwear and inner tubes rush to join. As the group revels, novel details incorporate a sense of whimsy: a cloud-seller arrives to peddle cooling cloud parasols and rain-cloud showers, and an elder constructs a slick slide from a piece of fruit rind. As spare narration combines with occasional utterances from daintily rendered figures, who read as East Asian, much of the story’s action unfolds near wordlessly across carefully shaded colored pencil drawings in comics-like panels. The result is a deliciously sensorial portrait of swimming as a refreshing summertime treat. Ages 4–8. (June)