A Yellow Watermelon

Winner of the Georgia Author of the Year Award for Young Adult Fiction

A Georgia Center for the Book "Books All Young Georgians Should Read" Selection

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.

Author: Ted M. Dunagan
Publisher: NewSouth Books
Published: 03/01/2014
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781588383013
Audience: Young Adult


Award: Alabama Camellia Award - Nominee

About the Author
TED M. DUNAGAN was born and grew up in rural southwestern Alabama. He served in the U.S. Army, attended Georgia State University, and retired from a career in business in 2003. He received the 2009 Georgia Author of the Year Award in Young Adult Fiction for his debut novel, A Yellow Watermelon. The book was also named to the inaugural list of "The 25 Books All Young Georgians Should Read" compiled by the Georgia Center for the Book, and selected as an Accelerated Reader Title. He followed his first success with a sequel, Secret of the Satilfa, which earned the 2011 Georgia Author of the Year Award, followed by his third in the series, Trouble on the Tombigbee, which won the 2012 Georgia Author of the Year Award, and the 2013 Yerby Award for Fiction. He lives in Monticello, Georgia, where he writes news, features, and a weekly column for The Monticello News.