The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963

Curtis, C.P. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham. 1963. NY: Delacorte.

      I love historical fiction and I love this book! The Weird Watsons are quite entertaining and seeing their adventures through the eyes of the middle child, Kenny, had me laughing and forcing my own kids to read about their antics. My favorite part of the story is when Byron was setting fire to the toilet paper parachutes in the upstairs bathroom. Mama had made it clear that she was fed up with Byron and he was about to get it! Curtis does such a great job of describing Mama's rage, Byron's fear, and Joetta's panic as Mama is determined to teach him a lesson by burning him, but only a little! Joetta cannot help herself but to blow out that match each time, momentarily diffusing the situation. The up and down of everyone's emotions in this scene are contagious. 

      This book touches on the turmoil of race relations in the 1960's but I love that most of the story is about this funny family, struggling to raise their children. By the time the Watsons find themselves in Alabama, the reader has grown quite attached to this fun-loving family. This makes the climax of the Birmingham church bombings that much more intense, as the reader worries for Joetta's safety. In the end, the trip to Birmingham greatly affects Kenny as he deals with what he witnessed that day. This book is an entertaining way for students to study a difficult time in our nation's history. 

Textbook Assignment #4

Being the middle child isn’t easy. Kenny Watson has an older brother who enjoys terrorizing him any chance he gets and a sister who just wants everyone to get along. Living in Flint, Michigan in 1963, the Weird Watsons have no shortage of crazy stories to tell, usually revolving around their oldest son Byron. The laid back dad and no nonsense mom are at their wit’s end with Byron’s disobedience and it’s time to get serious. Kenny’s narration takes the reader through the misadventures of Byron Watson, including freezing his lips to the car mirror, setting things on fire in the upstairs bathroom, making unapproved purchases at the local market, and failing 5th grade, again. His parents have threatened many times to ship him off to his grandmother’s house in Alabama but this time they mean business. Dad spends a small fortune to fix up the family’s car, the Brown Bomber, for the summer road trip, yet Byron still doesn’t believe he’s going anywhere. Kenny, on the other hand, is too excited about the trip to even sleep! Despite mom’s careful planning, dad intends to drive straight through to prove that both he and the Brown Bomber can handle the nearly 20 hour drive. Through this change in setting, the reader has the advantage of seeing the difference between the north and the south in their treatment of African Americans. Life in the south is very different than in Flint and the dangers that blacks faced in Alabama become very real to Kenny and his family. Through Kenny’s eyes, the reader becomes witness to the horrors of the 1963 Birmingham bombings. The historical significance of this book makes it a must read for all students. Curtis perfectly captures the voice for each of the five, very unique characters. That, blended with a carefully crafted background story, leads up to an intense climax followed by a heart-warming resolution.

Lesson Plans:

https://www.killeenisd.org/teacherDocs/c49/e19863/documents/TheWatsonsGoto-77577.pdf

http://www.walden.com/watsons-go-to-birmingham-7-creative-classroom-activities/