Susan S. Verner (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June 1996 (Vol. 49, No. 10))
When Jesse finds a tiny watermelon, not yet as big as her fist, in the corner patch where the fence posts meet, Pappy tells her to leave it for Watermelon Day. Jesse knows that's a whole summer away; in the meantime, she checks on it every day, patting it and listening to its sound brighten. Eventually, when Pappy decrees it to be Watermelon Day, he cuts the cord and floats the melon on the surface of the cold lake, under the willow tree. Jesse then has to suffer through a family reunion of ball-playing cousins and banjo-strumming uncles, not to mention an ice-cream-serving Mama, until Pappy finally sets the watermelon down on the front porch and whacks it open with his fist. Anyone who's ever had to wait an unbearably long time for something wonderful will appreciate the patience it takes just to stand back and let time roll on. The leisurely-almost too leisurely-pace of the text and the periodic fruity repetition ("Watermelon, watermelon," "A Watermelon Day") allow time to hang in the air; the illustrations, with their naïve style and angularly drafted figures, change from the fresh green of spring to radiant orange in the summer as the watermelon fills up with cool summer rains and the deep hot sun. Appelt neatly presents her simple tale, filled with the lazy rhythms of a summer day, while the dusty intensity of Gottlieb's palette captures the story's joys. R--Recommended. (c) Copyright 1996, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1996, Holt, 32p, $14.95. Ages 5-8 yrs.