An endearing, often outrageous blend of fable, tall tale, and page-turner, "The Watermelon King" returns to Ashland, Alabama--the fictional town immortalized in Daniel Wallace's enormously popular "Big Fish"-- the entire identity of which is based on the long-ago abundance of watermelons.

An endearing, often outrageous blend of fable, tall tale, and page-turner, The Watermelon King returns to Ashland, Alabama--the fictional town immortalized in Daniel Wallace's enormously popular Big Fish-- the entire identity of which is based on the long-ago abundance of watermelons.

Once upon a time there was an unbelievably greedy king, his name was Bruderick VI. At the same time, there was a gigantic magical watermelon, who was grown by Dean. The king wanted the watermelon, but this became a big problem for him.

When his attempts to get to know his dying father fail, William Bloom makes up stories that recreate his father's life in heroic proportions.

After being laid off from his job at a prestigious consulting firm, Dean decides to embark on a journey across East Africa with his younger brother. Unknowingly, they travel into bandit territory where a medical emergency forces them to choose between their safety and their health. Inspired by true events, The Watermelon King follows the journey of two brothers as they backpack across one of East Africa's most inhospitable regions. As they endure endless days of difficult travel, a series of short stories written by their father begins to uncover their inherent desire for adventure and their connection to the past. Along the way they begin to understand the beauty and frustration of life in Africa.

It's the summer of 1969. We've just landed on the moon, the Vietnam War is heating up, the Mets are beginning their famous World Series run, and Woodstock is rocking upstate New York. Down in New Jersey, twelve-year-old Brody is mostly concerned with the top ten hits on the radio and how much playing time he'll get on the football team. But when he goes along for the ride to Woodstock with his older brother and sees the mass of humanity there, he starts to wake up to the world around him-a world that could take away the brother he loves.

"The expressive male narrator charms the listener by impersonating the characters...Short segments of music and brief sound effects add interest...useful for all reading and listening situations." - Booklist

Sitting in the Last Words support group in Heaven, Ray Williams ruminates on his short life of 50 years, his episodes of infidelity, his premature marriage proposal, his sexual confusion, the dog he accidentally killed, and the baby he unwittingly saved.

Henry Walker was once a world-class magician, performing to sold-out shows in New York. But now he has been reduced to joining Musgrove's Chinese Circus (which at no point in its tour of the deep South has ever included a single Chinese person) as the shambling Negro Magician, whose dark black skin and electric green eyes bewitch most audiences. But one balmy Mississippi night in 1954, Henry disappears in the company of three rowdy white teens and is never seen again. Wallace pieces together Henry's incredible vagabond life – from a deal with a bone-white devil known only as Mr. Sebastian, to the heartrending loss of his sister Hannah – and creates an enchanting tale of love, loss, identity, and the limitation of magic.