Book: Christopher Paul Curtis. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. New York: Delacorte Press, 1995.
Awards:
Summary: Kenny is 9 years old and his family is known as the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. Kenny and his family are in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up. This book is about the Civil Rights issues going on at the time and how the deal with it all.
Audience: I would read this book with students grades 5 through 8.
Themes: A major theme in this book civil rights. Throughout the entire book, civil rights, or the lack thereof, affect Kenny and his family. They are in the heart of the south when all of these issues are taking place. This book has numerous opportunities for discussion about historical events that took place during the time period of this book. We can talk about how this setting differs from today and how it is similar.
Another main theme in this book is family. Kenny is very close with his family in this book and when something happen to his family, he is very affected by it. There are many things we can discuss about family life. We can talk about how the students' relate to Kenny and his family and how it's different from Kenny's.
Evidence:
“Having a little pee in your pants had to be better than being dinner for some redneck.”
This quote depicts what it was like for Kenny because of his race. Like mentioned above, the Civil Rights Movement really affected them at this time.
“Now, your mother and I made a deal when we first got married that if either one of us ever watched the 'wunnerful, wunnerful' Lawrence Welk Show or listened to country music the other one got to get a free divorce.”
This passage shows that the life of the Black Americans was much different than White Americans at this time. They were really not happy with the white people because of how they treated them.
Connections: This book can be compared with his other book Bud, Not Buudy. I read this book with my fifth graders in practicum this semester. It is a different plot but the civil rights are also an issue in that book. The students really enjoyed reading that book and it could be compared/contrasted with this book.
Reactions:
"I didn't like this very much. I think this is iffy for kids age 10. Some of the things in here really bothered me; when the mom tries to burn one of her kids fingers, the personification of the 'Wool Pooh' or whirlpool, the bombing of the church, and seeing a dead girl which the main character thought was his sister among other things. I think younger kids might get freaked out about some of the things that happen in this story."
"My fifth-graders love to study this book at the same time we complete our Civil Rights unit in social studies. It is very funny. Many of my children come from similar socioeconomic groups, so they are able to relate to the children. They are also at a time where peer relations are becoming a big issue, and this story deals with this as well. Credit was also discussed and tied into economics lessons, in addition to inventions (the Ultra Glider, air conditioning, etc. Love the book. You can use it in some many different ways to teach."
Reception: I loved this book! I think students would enjoy reading about this time in history. It was a very interesting story that had relateable language and writing. I would definitely use this book in my classroom.
Hyperlinks:
Author Page
Scholastic
Awards:
- Newbery Honor
- Coretta Scott King Honor
- Golden Kite Award
Summary: Kenny is 9 years old and his family is known as the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. Kenny and his family are in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up. This book is about the Civil Rights issues going on at the time and how the deal with it all.
Audience: I would read this book with students grades 5 through 8.
Themes: A major theme in this book civil rights. Throughout the entire book, civil rights, or the lack thereof, affect Kenny and his family. They are in the heart of the south when all of these issues are taking place. This book has numerous opportunities for discussion about historical events that took place during the time period of this book. We can talk about how this setting differs from today and how it is similar.
Another main theme in this book is family. Kenny is very close with his family in this book and when something happen to his family, he is very affected by it. There are many things we can discuss about family life. We can talk about how the students' relate to Kenny and his family and how it's different from Kenny's.
Evidence:
“Having a little pee in your pants had to be better than being dinner for some redneck.”
This quote depicts what it was like for Kenny because of his race. Like mentioned above, the Civil Rights Movement really affected them at this time.
“Now, your mother and I made a deal when we first got married that if either one of us ever watched the 'wunnerful, wunnerful' Lawrence Welk Show or listened to country music the other one got to get a free divorce.”
This passage shows that the life of the Black Americans was much different than White Americans at this time. They were really not happy with the white people because of how they treated them.
Connections: This book can be compared with his other book Bud, Not Buudy. I read this book with my fifth graders in practicum this semester. It is a different plot but the civil rights are also an issue in that book. The students really enjoyed reading that book and it could be compared/contrasted with this book.
Reactions:
"I didn't like this very much. I think this is iffy for kids age 10. Some of the things in here really bothered me; when the mom tries to burn one of her kids fingers, the personification of the 'Wool Pooh' or whirlpool, the bombing of the church, and seeing a dead girl which the main character thought was his sister among other things. I think younger kids might get freaked out about some of the things that happen in this story."
"My fifth-graders love to study this book at the same time we complete our Civil Rights unit in social studies. It is very funny. Many of my children come from similar socioeconomic groups, so they are able to relate to the children. They are also at a time where peer relations are becoming a big issue, and this story deals with this as well. Credit was also discussed and tied into economics lessons, in addition to inventions (the Ultra Glider, air conditioning, etc. Love the book. You can use it in some many different ways to teach."
Reception: I loved this book! I think students would enjoy reading about this time in history. It was a very interesting story that had relateable language and writing. I would definitely use this book in my classroom.
Hyperlinks:
Author Page
Scholastic