I recently wanted to do some research on modern middle grade novels, and I admit that this book's topic really spoke to me because my own mother is mentally ill, and I have long suspected she has paranoid schizophrenia.

In this book, the twelve-year-old first-person protagonist, Della, witnesses her mother's medication begin to fail, and then watches her mother descend into a non-functioning state, a situation that grows increasingly scary until finally, the mother is hauled off in an ambulance against her will and locked up in a mental ward until her medication can be adjusted. The 2018 middle grade contemporary novel, 'Where the Watermelons Grow,' by Cindy Baldwin, deals with an important topic: paranoid schizophrenia in parents. She was talking to a fictional 12 year old girl, but I needed to hear it and be reminded again too. It felt like the conversation Della had in the car with Miss Lorena was written just for me. I had many of the same feelings Della had in this book.Īs I read Where the Watermelons Grow I wished for a cure that I knew Della would not find.

Growing up we were told not to tell anyone what went on in our house because it was 'confidential' so there wasn't anyone I could really turn to. I think mental health needs to be talked about and not hidden. That said, I am happy this book was written and Cindy did a beautiful job capturing what it feels like to live with someone who is suffering from mental illness. All the memories that I had carefully buried and had tried to move past resurfaced and it felt like I was reading with a brick in my stomach. (57) U.S.A.This was a very difficult book for me to read because I have a mother who suffers from mental illness. “Did you ever see a dragon pulling a wagon?”Ģ/4 meter (24) 4/4 meter (50) 6/8 meter (33) Animals (28) Articles (103) Children's Songs from England (37) Children's songs in English (75) Chords: 2 chords (47) Chords: 3 chords (41) Christmas articles (27) Christmas lyrics (170) Christmas songs in English (45) Christmas Songs Sing-Along with Vocals (24) Copyrighted (22) England (47) Europe (108) famous quotes (37) Folk Song Lyrics (46) Folk Song Lyrics: American (37) glockenspiel or xylophone for children's songs (44) glockenspiel or xylophone for Christmas songs (30) guitar chords for Christmas songs (43) guitar chords for kids songs (62) Karaoke (122) lyrics for games (25) Lyrics in English (412) Lyrics in Spanish (30) Lyrics to Children's Songs (260) Lyrics to Pop Songs and Film Songs (38) Major (103) Minor (20) North America (49) Nursery Rhymes (85) original composition of Christmas music in public domain (40) PDF Lyrics (490) PDF Sheet music (310) piano sheet music PDF (87) piano tutorials for children's songs (48) piano tutorials for Christmas (43) Preschoolers (64) páginas en español (55) Sing-Along (37) U.K. “Did you ever see a llama wearing pajamas?” “Did you ever see a bear combing his hair?”

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