Meet Melonhead

Q: How did you think up Melonhead? 

I based Melonhead on my brother, Michael, and my five Melonheaded nephews. Like them, Melonhead is full of interesting, if not well thought out, ideas. (His motto is: “Why take the sidewalk when the roof is available?”) Unlike my brother and nephews, Melonhead has a nervous mom who, as his dad says, “doesn’t understand the ways of boys.” Of course, Melonhead doesn’t understand the ways of ladies.

Q: Is it hard to write like you are a boy when you are actually a grown woman? 

It was hard at first. Now I can hear Melonhead’s voice in my head. Sometimes he won’t leave.

Q: How do you think up disasters for Melonhead?

I start out with a small idea and think of ways to make it worse. 

Q: Do your characters come from real people?

Many do. Lucy Rose’s grandparents, Madam and Pop, are a lot like my mom and dad. My dad is not a fan of worksheets and homework. Pop is the same way. Madam and my mom both write advice columns. Madam and Pop’s wacky Victorian house is like the one in which I grew up, but I gave Madam and Pop extra porches and a dumbwaiter that still works. Melonhead’s best friend, the real Sam Alswang, is a young and daring friend of mine. His baby sister, Julia, is also real, she’s not a baby anymore but she is still a kid. Also, the good teachers are named after the best teachers I know.The crummy ones are fiction.

Q: Did any of the disasters actually happen to you?

Our runaway hamster inspired the great guinea pig escape and rescue. I upgraded his species because guinea pigs are funnier. Also, I added the dumbwaiter adventure.

Q: Is it good to be a Melonhead?

It’s great. Melonhead is smart, an original thinker, has a good heart, is funny and has an exciting life. He is happy with himself. And why wouldn’t he be?

The life lesson Adam Melon (Melonhead, 2009) has the most trouble learning is to think before he acts. No need to think too long before picking up this satisfying sequel though, because as summer vacation kicks off for this “now official” fifth-grader and his friends in Washington, D.C., the fun is in bloom. In an attempt to keep his excessive enthusiasm in check, Adam’s mom presents him with a “Remind-O-Rama,” and her campaign, which results in a ladybug-infested kitchen and a painted baby, makes for hilarious reading.

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In trouble on almost every page!