Where the Watermelons Grow-Cindy Baldwin
Middle school protagonist, Della, lives on her family’s farm in North Carolina with her mamma, daddy, and baby sister. But this summer, things begin to go downhill. Daddy is struggling to save their crops, and mamma starts talking to herself again. Last time Della’s mom began hearing voices and believing strange things, she was hospitalized. Terrified of losing her mother again, Della takes it upon herself to “fix” her mamma.
Della blames herself for creating her mother’s stress, and becomes more and more determined to help out more, make fewer mistakes, and reassure mamma that everything is ok. Della doesn’t understand that her mom’s mental health, unwillingness to take her medication, and wild moods have nothing to do with Della and everything to do with her schizophrenia.
Readers who pick up this book will see this mental illness through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl. They will learn about the beauty of family and the importance of asking for help. Students, particularly the girls in my classroom, love this title.
Maturity: 2/4 I rated this novel a 2/4 only because a few scenes describing Della's mom's schizophrenia are intense. There are moments in the novel when Della is very concerned and even scared of her mom's obsessive behavior. This novel may not be appropriate for a student who has a sensitivity to content that describes mental illness. For most students grade 7 and up, however, I feel that this book is engaging and very relatable.
Pages: 256
Lexile: 1020L
Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child's reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel's themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!
Happy Reading!
♥ Kara & Riley
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