The Watsons go to Birmingham

The Watsons go to Birmingham

Curtis, C. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963. New York: Delacorte Press.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham is set in 1963 at the height of the civil rights era. Through the eyes of ten-year-old Kenny, the reader learns about the crazy antics of his family. Kenny believes that everyone in his neighborhood and school must think his family is strange, "The Weird Watsons". Dad and Momma, as the Watson children call their parents, are determined to raise respectful, well-behaved children who make good choices and possess high moral standards. Realizing they have been unable to instill fully their standards in their oldest child, Dad and Momma decide to take By to Birmingham and leave him with his Grandma Sands. They know there is some violence in the South with the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement, but have been assured by Grandma Sands that it is quiet around her. Kenny and his family leave for Birmingham just as the violence moves into Grandma Sands neighborhood. First, Kenny nearly drowns and By saves him, then the nearby Baptist Church is bombed on Sunday morning. In the remainder of the story, Kenny must deal with his emotions due to the escalating violence. The book stresses the importance of respect and acceptance and the negative consequences of discrimination and segregation. 

This book has many of the same themes as Number the Stars. Themes like loss of innocence, segregation, discrimination, and family appear in both novels. This novel could be read in conjunction with number the stars, perhaps in literature circles or book clubs. The book can also be integrated with a unit of study on the Civil Rights movement. Just as the other book, I would not read this book to any grades lower than 5th. The themes and events in this book are important, but hard to digest. I liked this book when I first read it in middle school, but I appreciated the themes the second time around. 

Here is good resource for teachers while reading this novel!