Icy Watermelon/ Sandía Fría [Hardcover]

Mary Sue Galindo (Author), Pauline Rodriguez Howard (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Hugo, María, and Sarita enjoy spending time with their abuelo and abuela. And they in turn enjoy teasing their grandchildren with adivinanzas, little riddles that make the children giggle and smile even while leading them to think about the world in new ways. So when Grandpa begins to reminisce about his own grandfather, and about the watermelons they raised long ago, the three youngsters recognize yet another curious adivinanza in the telling.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Grade 2-This is a heartwarming story of three generations of one Hispanic American family gathered together on a summer night. As they sit on the porch enjoying icy cold watermelon, the grandparents tell stories and make up riddles to entertain the children. Beautiful and tenderly rendered pastel illustrations capture the love among the family members while portraying an average, modern-day Hispanic family. The Spanish text is rich in Mexican American texture and reads very naturally. Highly recommended for any library or bookstore serving Hispanics. M.O.B.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-In this third book about the irrepressible Pepita, the girl finds herself in bind after bind due to a tendency to daydream. However, she is unconcerned about her lateness despite repeated complaints from others that it impacts them negatively. It is not until the child gets to school too late to go on a field trip and disappoints both herself and a friend that the lesson begins to sink in. By the narrative's end, Pepita is ready to hustle along, cognizant of the merits of being considerate of others. More than a little didactic, the lengthy text hammers the point home in English and in Spanish. Young readers or listeners will certainly get the point-and long before the recalcitrant Pepita. The full-page, pen-and-ink and watercolor cartoon illustrations are clean and have considerable child appeal, and the small inset designs that separate the English text from the Spanish have a sort of greeting-card charm. Readers who have enjoyed the two earlier Pepita books or who are fans of Jan Romero Stevens's "Carlos" books (Rising Moon) may enjoy this story. Others, however, will find themselves better served by such standards as Ruth Wallace-Brodeur's Home by Five (McElderry, 1992; o.p.) or John Burningham's John Patrick Norman McHennessy (Crown, 1999).-Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 28 pages
• Publisher: Arte Publico Press; Bilingual edition (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558853065
• ISBN-13: 978-1558853065
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 11.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,699,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delicious book!, February 5, 2006

By 

N. Salazar "Cristy Salazar" (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Icy Watermelon/ Sandía Fría (Hardcover)

This book talks about a very common event happening among Latino families when they gather together to see the "atardecer" (sunset) after eating around 3 or 4 pm, which is the main meal. The narrator describes a pretty scene when three generations (grandparents, parents and children) enjoy a sliced, sweet and cold watermelon and talk about stories in the past like how abuelos meet long time ago, when abuelo's father raised watermelon and how he helped his father selling them, that was how grandfather meet grandmother. This very creative story describes a beautiful Sunday and the conversations, jokes and laughter among a Latino family.

A beautiful book recommended to be read among every family in the US.

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful book!, October 25, 2009

By 

Sara B. "Sara Boyd" (Lakewood, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Icy Watermelon / Sandia fria (Paperback)

Icy Watermelon by Mary Sue Galindo is a wonderful book for young children. It has a gentle, warm, loving, family-oriented tone. While my children are now grown, this is the type of book I liked to read to them when they were young. It's engaging to the young child because of a riddle and it uses hints with senses- color, taste, size, and other characteristics that help the child guess what the surprise is. The family shared activity of sitting on the porch, talking, eating watermelon, listening to the grandparents' story of how they met, and planning together to save the seeds to plant, demonstrates a healthy communal way of spending time together in an unhurried manner for the different generations. The illustrations are wonderful using warm colors and smiling, loving characters. The book is bilingual (Spanish) on each page and comes with a CD. For those looking for a book that shows healthy, gentle, loving, family-oriented activities, this is a great book to get.