The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 (1995)

Newbery Honor Winner, Coretta Scott King Award. From Amazon.com: Christopher Paul Curtis's alternately hilarious and deeply moving novel blends the fictional account of an African American family with the factual events of the violent summer of 1963. Fourth grader Kenny is an innocent and sincere narrator; his ingenuousness lends authenticity to the story and invites readers of all ages into his world, even as it changes before his eyes. RGG: Well-written story about a black family; historical references to the Birmingham Four. Easier read.

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The Watsons live in Flint, Michigan. They fix up the “brown bomber” and drive to visit Grandmother in Alabama to leave their brother Byron to live with her.

I absolutely love this book! I try to read it every year with my sixth graders, though I misjudged time last year so this year am reading it with both sixth and seventh grade classes. As the seventh graders are still mid-book, I'll edit my review later so I don't spoil anything for any of them. Right now it's safe to say that I really enjoy the family relationships in this book--they just seem so true to life. Kenny Watson, the middle child of the "Weird Watsons" family, is an amazing narrator. Curtis has him make some incredibly astute observations at times, while at other times he's endearingly clueless about what is actually going on around him. This book's chapter titles are a hoot; my all-time favorite chapter title has to be from chapter five: "Nazi Parachutes Attack America and Get Shot Down over the Flint River by Captain Byron Watson and his Flamethrower of Death". It's almost better than the incident it describes. Almost, but not quite. I highly recommend the audio version, read by LeVar Burton (from Reading Rainbow). He does a fantastic job of bringing the characters--especially Kenny--to life for listeners. ( )

This book is a classic! I wonderfully written and detailed story about a family and the trouble they face growing up as an African American family in 1963. This book is not scared to go to difficult places, Christopher Paul Curtis writes a story of pain, suffering, love and family. The ways in which the world wasn't fair and shines light on how this family survives. This is a compelling book that one could read over and over again. ( )

Newbery Honor Winner, Coretta Scott King Award. From Amazon.com: Christopher Paul Curtis's alternately hilarious and deeply moving novel blends the fictional account of an African American family with the factual events of the violent summer of 1963. Fourth grader Kenny is an innocent and sincere narrator; his ingenuousness lends authenticity to the story and invites readers of all ages into his world, even as it changes before his eyes. RGG: Well-written story about a black family; historical references to the Birmingham Four. Easier read.