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Oklahoma Agriculture in the Classroom

Classroom Resources



Agriculture-Related Books

Watermelon

Watermelon Day
Appelt, Kathi
Henry Holt, 1996
Grades K-3
There's a watermelon growing in the corner of the patch where the fence posts meet, and Jesse is waiting for it. Waiting for it to fill up with the cool summer rain and the hot summer sun. Waiting until at last it is ripe and ready for eating. Waiting until it is ready for her family's annual Watermelon day.
Icy Watermelon/Sandia Fria
Galindo, Mary Sue, and Pauline Rodriguez Howard
Arte Pinata, 2008
Grades PreK-2
In this bilingual picture book, three Latino children share riddles and stories with their parents and grandparents as they eat watermelon on Sunday afternoon. Abuelo remembers that when he was a boy, he helped his father harvest watermelons and sell them along the highway and in the barrios. In fact, that's how Abuelo met his wife. When her mother sent her to buy a watermelon, her dog jumped in the truck and went after Abuelo, and he dropped the fruit. His face was "redder that the watermelon lying all over the street," but he was in love. The text appears in both English and Spanish on each page.
The Watermelon Mystery (Sugar Creek Gang Series)
Hutchens, Paul
Moody, 1998
Grades 4-6
First, a grocery store robbery. Then somebody steals Bill Collins's prize watermelon.
Peter Spit a Seed at Sue
Koller, Jackie French, and John Manders
Viking Juvenile, 2008
Grades PreK-3
Four bored children visit a man selling watermelon slices from his truck, dig into them, and soon begin slurping and spitting, leading the way for the rest of the town to follow suit. When the mayor appears and it seems the game is off, she surprises everyone and ups the ante—by throwing pies!
One Watermelon Seed
Lottridge, Celia
Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2012
Grades PreK-2
Numbers, colors, and gardening are combined in this vividly illustrated counting book. The story starts as Max and Josephine plant a garden, first 1 watermelon seed, then 2 pumpkin seeds, and so on all the way to 10. The phrase, "and they grew" follows mention of each new set of seeds. The illustrations depict the seedlings as they grow. After a center spread with colorful plants filling the pages to capacity and Max and Josephine busy at work, it's time for the harvest. The fruits and vegetables are so plentiful that they must be counted in tens: "ten watermelons, big and green, and twenty pumpkins, glowing orange." Later, on a cold winter night, the children turn "one hundred ears of corn" into "100s and 1000s of big, white crunchy puffs" of popcorn. Throughout the book, the text runs along the bottom of the double-paged illustrations, with the numerals, in bright colors, lining up beneath. This appealing book is great for classroom counting and discussions of seasons.
Watermelon Wishes
Moser, Lisa, and Stacey Schuett
Clarion, 2006
When Charlie and his grandfather plant a watermelon patch together, Charlie hopes that one seed will become a special kind of watermelon that gives one wish. As they enjoy fishing, picnicking, playing basketball, and swimming, Grandpap tries to guess what his grandson would ask for. In the end, Charlie reveals that his wish is for another summer with his grandfather like the one they just had.
One Cool Watermelon
Tofts, Hannah
Zero to Ten, 2008
Grades PreK-2
Kids can count their way to healthy eating with this delicious introduction to math through familiar fruits and vegetables. A variety of discussion subjects are introduced, including identifying favorite foods, investigating taste differences such as sweet and hot, examining textures such as smooth and sticky, and comparing the differences in the size of the items as well as their colors. A playful and interactive layout allows the reader to open flaps and view the inside of each fruit or vegetable.