FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Ted Dunagan is sharing his story of race relations in another time and place with students and adults in Baldwin, Mobile and Clarke counties. The newspaper feature writer, columnist and author from Monticello, Ga. will drop by Fairhope Middle School on Friday, from 7:40 until 11 a.m., and Page & Palette Bookstore, from 3 to 5 p.m.

He will discuss his new novel written for middle school students at each venue, as well as sign copies of the book at the Fairhope bookstore. Dunagan paints with broad strokes a vivid picture of the Southern political and historical landscape of the late 1940s.

“It takes them back in time to the way things were in 1948,” he said in a recent phone interview. “I used my memory to write it. I made some things up, too.”

A Yellow Watermelon begins in the summer, when 12-year-old Ted Dillon is busy with his newspaper route and excited about the prospect of picking cotton for the first time. After befriending a black sawmill worker and a black boy his own age, he becomes entwined in a dangerous Clarke County secret involving his new friends and the richest, meanest man in town.

Dunagan’s novel looks at poverty and racial segregation through Ted’s eyes. He wanders through the cotton fields, streams, churches, whiskey stills and his own heart and mind as he struggles with the hypocrisy and wonders of his small world, amid the lingering effects of the Great Depression.

“The book carries a fine message, and it’s fun to read,” he said. “Even though we are very different, we are very much alike. A Yellow Watermelon is a comparison to human parity. That’s one of the lessons I try to get across in the book.”

Dunagan said the semi-autobiographical story takes place during “the lull before the storm of the Civil Rights Movement.” He pointed out that Ted and his young black friend, Poudlum, didn’t go to school together nor did they pick cotton together.

“These two characters in this book — one black, one white — will hopefully impress upon the kids and make them colorblind,” he said. “We don’t choose our parents, we don’t choose where we are born and we don’t choose the color of our skin. We just are who we are.”

The Alabama native’s presentation at area middle schools will explore why he wrote the book, the themes contained in the story, the inspiration behind the novel and the writing process (including character and plot development).

He will also discuss the nature of courage, why he thinks independent thinking is important and what it was like to grow up in the segregated South.

A question and answer period will follow.

Dunagan said, “It’s been received very well.” He recently appeared on public radio and cable television in Georgia, and took part in the Kentucky Book Festival at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. He’s also riding high from a Kirkus Review characterization of the book as “a memorable, generous-hearted tale.”

Dunagan hopes students of all ages will continue to visit their local libraries and bookstores, and immerse themselves in their imagination.

“I think there’s been a resurgence in the printed word,” Dunagan said. “There’s been an overall effort in a lot of areas to get kids outside more and reading more.”

Dunagan was born in 1943 in Grove Hill. He attended Georgia State University, and served for three years in the Army as a member of the 101st Airborne Division and Special Forces Training Group.

He retired six years ago after a career in the cosmetics and fragrance industry. Currently he writes for The Monticello News and spends time with his wife.

In addition to his stops in Fairhope, Dunagan will on Thursday be interviewed on WKRG-TV’s 9 a.m. newscast, chat with Darwin Singleton from NBC 15, speak to students at Dunbar Middle School in downtown Mobile and give a presentation at the Mobile Public Library Ben May Main Library.

On Friday, he will also visit with students at Katherine H. Hankins Middle School in Theodore, and on Saturday, Dunagan will take part in the Old-timers Luncheon at Clarke County High School, as well as a book-signing at the Clarke County Museum.

A Yellow Watermelon is available in local bookstores, through chain and online retailers, or directly from NewSouth Books, (866) 639-7688 or www.newsouthbooks.com.