PETER SPIT A SEED AT SUE

This slapstick farce bounces along in rollicking rhyme accompanied by exaggerated cartoon-style illustrations featuring round-cheeked, wide-eyed characters sporting skinny extremities and outsized feet. The plot is simple: Four bored kids perk up a hot summer day by spitting watermelon seeds at one another. The action escalates when they take their battle to the village square and others get involved. The stern mayor’s appearance threatens to shut down the fun until she suddenly picks up a cream pie and lets it fly. Manders’s style suits the brisk text, which uses occasional typeface changes to enhance the rhythm. Although the farmer’s rattletrap truck and the idyllic village setting suggest an earlier time, the backwards cap on Peter’s head and a reference to “dudes in business suits” set the story squarely in the present. Light as a pie and sweet as melon, this slight story should find an enthusiastic audience with parents and grandparents nostalgic for a simpler, sillier time, who will enjoy sharing the fun with young listeners. (Picture book. 3-6)