The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
Downloadable Audiobook - 2006 | Unabridged


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From Library Staff
When his parents decide to take their family on a road trip to visit their Grandmother in 1963 Birmingham Alabama, Kenny doesn't know it will be the most important visit of his life.
A zany black family from Flint, Michigan takes a trip to visit grandma in the South in 1963 and is forever changed.

The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
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Add Age Suitabilityvioletjelaine thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 13 and 99
red_hawk_1161 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 8 and 41
blue_alligator_8813 thinks this title is suitable for 6 years and over
black_porcupine_26 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 10 and 10
red_lion_1694 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 62 and 8
red_elephant_652 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 9 and 12
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"Kenny's family is known in Flint, Michigan, as the Watsons, for lots of good reasons. Younger sister Joetta has been led to believe she has to be overdressed in the winter because Southern folks (their mother is from Alabama) freeze solid and have to be picked up by the city garbage trucks. Kenny, the narrator, does well in school and tries to meet his hardworking parents' expectations. Since the story is set in 1963, the family must make careful preparations for their trip, for they count on food or housing being available on the road once they cross into the South. the slow suspence of life has a beneficial effect on all of the children until the fateful day when a local church is bombed and Kenny runs in to look for his sister." (Novelist Review)
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Add a CommentWhen his parents decide to take their family on a road trip to visit their Grandmother in 1963 Birmingham Alabama, Kenny doesn't know it will be the most important visit of his life.
I like all of Christopher Paul Curtis' other books but this one not so much.... some swearing and mentions a few inappropriate things.... :( his other books are great though. This book is definitely an eighth grade and up book.
Kenny and his family (the 'Weird Watsons') do their best to stay afloat during the Civil Rights Movement, and young Kenny finds that true strength comes from within.
An absolutely incredible performance (by LeVar Burton!!!!) of a deservedly beloved classic.
Couldn't get much better for a road trip than this gem read by LeVar Burton. The "weird Watsons" are definitely funny and believable. The material in this book does deal with one of the more horrific crimes during the Civil Rights Movement, so this is probably best for ages nine and up.
Good story, but couldn't really get into it.
I came *this* close to giving up on this book after reading chapter five, which is way too violent for my taste. I'm so glad I didn't give up, though. This is a really good book that deserves our full attention, even though it's difficult sometimes. If you’re a wuss like me, maybe just skip chapter five?
Excellent story, humorous and interesting. Incorporates the family going to Alabama to visit Grandma and being there during the bombings of churches . This is not a sad story but cute and funny yet with the seriousness of the racial tension. Recommend this book. Looking forward to watching the DVD.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 is the unforgettable first novel written by Christopher Paul Curtis. It is a Newbery Award Honor and Coretta Scott King Award Honor book which is quite a pile of kudos for a first novel. It's one of those books that will linger in your memory for years. It's funny, heartwarming and then in the final pages it is heart wrenching. With all this heavy duty honor and glory one might wonder if kids would appreciate the story and I can assure you they do. It's just one of those books that did everything exactly right.
What makes this book work are the characters. So let's meet the Watsons or, as the neighborhood people call them... the Weird Watsons. And they earned that name. There's our brilliant ten year old narrator Kenny who shares his insights on his family. There's Byron who "just turned 13 so he was officially a teenage juvenile delinquent..." These two create a lot of comic/tragic energy as the story progresses. Joetta is their baby sister and hapless witness to most of their disasters. Mom and Dad are quirky, creative, and often exasperated.
The chapter headings give you a good idea of what kind of trouble the boys tend to get into usually with Kenny as the victim. Chapter five for instance is "Nazi Parachutes Attack America and Get Shot Down over the Flint River by Captain Byron Watson and His Flamethrower of Death." It involves Byron, matches, a toilet and toy soldiers. Eventually Byron's juvenile delinquent ways force his parents to play hardball and he's taken to his Grandmother's house in Birmingham. That's when this family that we have fallen in love with gets wrapped up in one of the darkest events of the Civil Rights era. Because we are so firmly attached to the Watson's we walk into the events of 1963 and feel the intensity and pain just as they do. This sense of deep empathy is what makes this book stay firmly fixed in the minds of those who have read it. Read it and you will understand why Christopher Paul Curtis is one of the best authors writing for kids today.
This is a great book. There are not that many civil-rights related topics in it, but a bunch of wonderful short stories.