Christopher Paul Curtis

It's sort of easy to forget the title of this book, as the trip to Birmingham doesn't even come up until well past the halfway point. And by then I was enjoying the slice of life family interactions in Flint, Michigan, so much I was sort of sad when the Watsons did hit the road. The trip also brought with it an unexpected excursion into magical realism, which I don't always welcome, but the reference to Winnie the Pooh that came along with it helped ease my pain.

The Watson family is so show more likable they anchor the book even through its most drastic tone shifts. show less

Before I started kindergarten, I spent the days with my grandparents. I would nap in the gap behind their chairs and couch in the living room -- not because I was attempting to heal and forgive myself, but because it was a cozy place to nap.

The Watsons starts as a warm family story with vibes similar to A Christmas Story, and then BAM: remember the turmoil of the South in 1963? This book tells the story of the "Weird Watsons", a family with a big brown car that has a record player installed. show more The same car that eldest child Byron got his lips stuck to the window during a harsh winter. A car that was already old when they got it but with lots of tender-loving care, it carries them to Birmingham, Alabama from Flint, Michigan one summer.

They're traveling to visit family and to drop off Byron, who's been behaving like an absolute menace (starting fires, bullying, straightening his hair!). All seems well when they arrive, but they can't escape the horrors of 1960s Alabama for long. First, Kenny meets the Wool Pooh, Winnie's evil twin, a terrible beast that tries to drown kids. After meeting Wool Pooh, Kenny knows blind panic. Then, a few days later, a bomb explodes and blows up any sense of safety he had left.

One of my favorite parts is watching Byron step up. The same kid who’s been acting like a juvenile delinquent becomes an older brother who knows exactly what to do when Kenny disappears into himself -- pulling him back from behind the couch and helping him heal.

Reading this now also has that extra layer of UGH! HISTORY JUST KEEPS REPEATING: people letting fear-driven hate eat away at their humanity—and still claiming the high ground. It’s depressing how old that pattern is.

Ultimately, this book is about family and is full of love and humor. I finished it feeling a mix of love-for-family and fury-at-history. I didn’t love it quite as much as The Mighty Miss Malone (I adored Deza's verbosity), but I’m definitely in for more Christopher Paul Curtis.

(I'm trying to read books I own this year so I'm thinking next I'll visit 1968 with the Gaither Sisters in One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.) show less

First of all, I didn't even realize that this was the same author as The Watson's Go to Birmingham until I did a bit of background research on Christopher Paul Curtis. Yet another phenomenal book from Curtis, but one where being defined by the color of your skin isn't a driving factor. On the other hand, though, racism is addressed, but by assuming the mantle of a young orphaned black boy named "Bud, not Buddy," Curtis has us realize that racism isn't as high on the list of this character's show more priorities as his next meal. The story takes us through Bud's quest to find a home during the Great Depression after running away from an abusive foster family. Along the way, he meets a few interesting characters that shed light on what life was like for Blacks living in the 1930s. This is a great book for introducing children to the issues of racism, homelessness, poverty, and familial issues. Although it might been seen as a book for younger audiences due to its length and straightforward narrative style, I think in the hands of the right teacher more could be extracted from its pages. show less

If you want a story that keeps you close to a character's heart throughout and wrenches all the emotions out of it then look no further then this amazing novel. Author Christopher Paul Curtis tells such an amazingly alive and strong powerful story about courage, survival, and the bond of what family means to so many people. It tells the story of Bud Caldwell, (please don't call him Buddy) and his journey from an orphanage in Flint, Michigan to the small town of Grand Rapids as he searches show more for his father, Herman Calloway. Bud, survived by his late mother who has passed at an early age, gives credence to the fact that our hearts are stronger than our stomach, and Bud says, his eyes are tired of crying. He is reminded by his late mother, through etched stones with dates that his father is a musician, well known in fact who he has been searching for. We are carried from orphanage, to shantytown, and from there on a walking journey in the dead of night as Bud escapes the horrible conditions he is in to search for his family. What he finds in Grand Rapids is Herman and his bustling band, who are local stars of their own. They adopt him and in the end we find out something truly heart wrenching .
What you cannot fathom during this time during the Great Depression is the level of loss, guilt, and despair many of the young children felt as they were abandoned and estranged and given no bound or limits of hope. How Bud reacted and the strength he pursued was such a model for hero in my book. I especially loved Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things to Have a Funny Life and Make a Better Liar Out of Yourself because it gives you a really intimate look at Bud's inner turmoil, reflectiveness, and the world that has shaped him. I have never cried this hard after closing this book. This was a winner. show less