Watermelon Wishes

by Lisa Moser, Stacey Schuett (Illustrator)

When Grandpap teaches Charlie how to plant watermelon seeds in the spring, Charlie hopes they’ll grow a "Wishing Watermelon." Grandpap has never heard of such a thing, and when he asks Charlie what he would wish for, Charlie won't tell. Through a whole summer of biking, fishing, basketball, and waiting for watermelons together, Grandpap tries to guess his grandson's harvest wish.

Lush, vivid paintings evoke the friendship, teamwork, and affection between grandfather and grandson as they share their wisdom and this special summer together.

Genres: Summer, Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published December 18, 2006

About the author

Lisa Moser grew up in the small town of Fairfield, Iowa. "I had a wonderful childhood," says Lisa. "I lived in a neighborhood where lemonade stands were a day's event, the boundaries for hide-and-go-seek were the entire block, and you knew it was time to come home when the streetlights came on."


About this time, Lisa was inspired by her grandma to become a writer. "My grandma and grandpa lived in Florida, and we would write letters every week. But on some golden days, some treasure days, I would go to the mailbox and find a story from my grandma. She'd write the stories, draw the pictures, and bind them up with bright yarn. Reading those stories, my own dream of becoming a children's author began."


Lisa went on to attend The University of Iowa and graduated with a degree in elementary education. After getting married, she moved to Worthington, Ohio where she happily taught reading, writing, and other subjects to fifth graders. Lisa is proud to say that she was never beaten in a footrace by any of her students, although she only raced them once. Wisely, she retired a champion.


When Lisa and her husband moved to Wisconsin and had their daughter, Lydia, Lisa became a stay-at-home mom and pursued her childhood dream of writing.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story celebrating the bond between grandfather and grandson and the good times they share while waiting for the watermelons (especially the "wishing watermelon") to grow over one special summer. The ending is just "awww-dorable" ;-) if not entirely a surprise.

[Kendall Henson · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Watermelon Wishes, a young boy is planting watermelons with his grandfather, and hopes to grow a "wishing watermelon." His grandfather spends all summer, while the melons grow, trying to guess what his grandson will wish for. Meanwhile they spend hours together, fishing, picnicking, and more. When the watermelons are finally grown, the little boy picks the perfect one to be his wishing watermelon, and finally makes his wish.

I loved this book because of the emphasis it places on the value of children's relationships with their grandparents. The story was sweet and nostalgic.

I believe this book would be useful in a classroom because of the way it encourages children to appreciate their grandparents. In today's culture I believe this is something lacking, and I would love to see children returning to more "old-fashioned" lifestyles.

[Madison Ramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is one of a little boy named Charlie and his grandpap. At the beginning of the story, the two plant a patch of watermelons. They spend the summer enjoying the weather and the company. Charlie mentions a "wishing watermelon," but never reveals what that means. At the end of summer, Charlie digs out seeds from the "wishing watermelon" and reveals his wish for the best summer ever had come true.

This story would be great to talk about how plants grow over time. We could introduce a plants unit with this story.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about a young boy who is enjoying summer fun with his Grandpap. Together, they plant watermelon seeds and wait for their harvest to come in. The illustrations are warm and bright, and the story line is simple, sweet and down to earth.

The first page jumped right into a conversation between the Grandpap and the boy, so it threw us off a little. We looked back to see if a page was missing! So I wish it started out a little clearer. Otherwise, it was a very nice book.

We found this copy at the local library.

[Talea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinda glad I read this one before I read it to my kids. I know I’d have cried. It reminded me so much of the summers I had growing up with my dad and grandpa before they passed away. Only my older boys (adults now) got to know my dad before the PTSD got to be too much. My younger kids will never get that innocence with dad or his dad (who passed away years ago). A great read that stresses the importance of time with loved ones before it’s too late.

[Sunni Berbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

(PICTURE BOOK)

Good for making inferences (what charlie has in his pocket, what he is going to wish for). Loved the illustrations. Shows the process of planting and harvesting and all the preparation and hard work it takes. Good farming focused vocabulary to introduce to students. Also hits on some onomatopoeia. Cute relationship between Charlie and Grandpap.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Age: K - 2
Family: Grandpa
Season: Summer

"When Grandpap teaches Charlie how to plant watermelon seeds in the spring, Charlie hopes they’ll grow a "Wishing Watermelon." Grandpap has never heard of such a thing, and when he asks Charlie what he would wish for, Charlie won't tell. Through a whole summer of biking, fishing, basketball, and waiting for watermelons together, Grandpap tries to guess his grandson's harvest wish" (Goodreads feature review).

It was fun to read a story where the child was holding the secret twist to the plot, not the adult, where the adult was curious and inquisitive and the child held the answer. For beginning readers, most all pictures match the words.

[Collin Powell]

This is a fiction picture book that talks about a young boy and his grandfather who are harvesting watermelons from their garden in the summer.  The boy says maybe it will be a wishing watermelon, and then grandpa asks for him to explain and the boy answers you’ll see. In the rest of the book the grandpa tries to guess what his grandson will wish for.

I thought it was a cute story that children would enjoy. The ending is a bit of cheesy surprise cause the boy chooses to not spend his wish on material things, rather he wishes for another summer with his grandfather. It’s a nice message about the value of family bonds.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy and his grandfather spend the days planting watermelon seeds, fishing, laughing, and swimming. Grandfather says they'll grow a watermelon that has Watermelon Wishes...a special watermelon that grants just one wish. What will the boy wish for? A gentle story about the bond between a boy and his grandfather.

Used for "Going Bananas: Fruit" storytime- April, 2010.

[CFAITC]

When Charlie spends the summer growing watermelons with Grandpap, his secret wish is to do it all over again the next year.

[Stacie Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book of a boy and his grandfather planting seeds together. Cool how the grandpa shares that "hobby" or tradition with his grandson. Students can relate easily.