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In the best Southern literary tradition, A Yellow Watermelon explores poverty and racial segregation through the eyes of an innocent boy. In rural south Alabama in 1948, whites picked on one side of the cotton field and blacks on the other. Where the fields meet, twelve-year-old Ted meets Poudlum, a black boy his own age, who teaches him how to endure the hard work while they bond and go on to integrate the field. Through Poudlum and Jake, an escaped black convict, Ted learns of evil forces gathering to deprive Poudlum's family of their property and livelihood. The white boy and the black boy encounter danger and suspense while executing a plan to save Poudlum's family, set Jake onto a river of freedom, and discover a great, yet simple secret of enlightenment.
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Reviews
"A Yellow Watermelon is reminiscent of some of the best Southern books. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain immediately comes to mind, as does Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, both of which are drenched in the segregationist attitudes of the region."
Michelle Eubanks, Florence Times Daily
"[A Yellow Watermelon] has some nice characterization and local color-what folks eat, work songs in the field, ordering school clothes from the Sears and Roebuck catalog-but also plenty of action. I think there is more than enough plot action to satisfy a young reader."
Don Noble, Alabama Public Radio
"The novel's plot-and Dunagan's-are daring, intricate, suspenseful, and executed with style and vigor. Thus, the adventure story, and it is a very satisfying one."
Alabama Writers Forum