Fans of The Thing About Jellyfish and A Snicker of Magic will be swept away by Cindy Baldwin’s debut middle grade about a girl coming to terms with her mother’s mental illness. An Oregon Spirit Award Honor book.

When twelve-year-old Della Kelly finds her mother furiously digging black seeds from a watermelon in the middle of the night and talking to people who aren't there, Della worries that it’s happening again—that the sickness that put her mama in the hospital four years ago is back. That her mama is going to be hospitalized for months like she was last time.

With her daddy struggling to save the farm and her mama in denial about what’s happening, it’s up to Della to heal her mama for good. And she knows just how she’ll do it: with a jar of the Bee Lady’s magic honey, which has mended the wounds and woes of Maryville, North Carolina, for generations.

But when the Bee Lady says that the solution might have less to do with fixing Mama’s brain and more to do with healing her own heart, Della must learn that love means accepting her mama just as she is.

What will it take for one girl to understand that some things can’t be fixed, only loved?

A Moving Mother-Daughter Story: When twelve-year-old Della sees her mama talking to people who aren’t there, she makes it her mission to find a cure before she loses her for good.
Coping with Mental Illness: A sensitive and honest look at a family grappling with schizophrenia, perfect for starting important conversations with middle grade readers.
Southern Fiction for Kids: Set on a struggling North Carolina farm during a record-breaking drought, where local magic from the Bee Lady might be the only hope left.
A Powerful Coming of Age Story: Della must learn the difficult lesson that love isn’t about fixing someone, but about accepting them exactly as they are.

Where the Watermelons Grow

Where the Watermelons Grow