Watermelon Pool - by Bonsoir Lune (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Dive into a glorious celebration of imagination and summertime in this newly-translated bestselling Korean picture book.

"Deliciously refreshing."--The Wall Street Journal
* FIVE STARRED REVIEWS *

When the summer sun is in full force, there's only one way to beat the heat: dive into a watermelon pool. After a large watermelon gets split in half, everyone in the village dives in, digging into the fruit and making slides from the rind while spending a joy-filled day together until nightfall.

Bonsoir Lune is a bestselling and beloved picture book creator working in Korea. Watermelon Pool was her debut picture book, first published in 2015. Translated by New York Times bestselling author Frances Cha, Watermelon Pool is the perfect, refreshing read for a scorching hot summer day.

Review Quotes

★ "Superb, universally appealing art makes for an immersive, uplifting read that celebrates the singular delight of a day well-spent, and the delicious thrill of diving in to summer fun." --BookPage, starred review

★ "Deliciously refreshing." --The Horn Book, starred review

★ "This delicious fantasy will inspire dialogue and wonder in readers of all ages." --School Library Journal, starred review

★ "[A] frolicsome picture book variation on a common summer diversion . . . novel details incorporate a sense of whimsy . . . 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." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "Bonsoir Lune presents irresistibly immersive spreads rife with whimsical details . . . Lune's simple narrative, translated by bestselling Korean American author Cha, is energetically punctuated with onomatopoeic pit pats, AAAAs, PLOPs, THUNKs, oomphs, and even musical notes . . . Vivacious delight exudes from every page as young and old savor the refreshing rewards of summer." --Kirkus, starred review

"Dramatic, full-bleed red and green colored-pencil depictions of the watermelon bring it into close focus . . . This [book] gleefully captures the magic of a perfect summer's day." --Booklist

"Lune's beloved Korean picture book makes a refreshing splash with an English translation that invites young readers to embrace both the sweet and the silly of summertime imagination . . . The simplicity of the sun-soaked sensory details and dialogue showcases the community's jubilant togetherness . . . A surprise ending will have viewers wearing smiles as delectable and satisfying as a watermelon slice on a summer day." --BCCB

"Utterly silly, kid-friendly, and downright delightful, it is precisely the kind of title to restore anyone's faith in the state of modern picture book publishing today . . . this book has the potential to linger in the minds of its young readers for many decades to come." --Betsy Bird, Fuse 8

About the Author

Bonsoir Lune is the author-illustrator of ten picture books, including Watermelon Pool which was an award-winning bestseller in Korea.

Frances Cha is a former travel and culture editor for CNN in Seoul and Hong Kong. She was born in the United States, attended elementary school in Hong Kong and moved to Korea when she was 11. She teaches fiction at the Columbia University MFA program and lives in New York with her family. She is the author of the adult novel If I Had Your Face and the picture books The Goblin Twins and The Goblin Twins: Too Hard to Scare.