The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis: Historical Fiction Response

This book unfolds the tales of the “Weird Watsons”, an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan in the 1960’s. When young Kenny’s troublesome older brother Byron finally steps on his parents’ last nerve, Mr. and Mrs. Watson decide that it is time their juvenile delinquent son spend some time with his strict grandmother down south in Alabama. That summer, the Watson family plans a road trip to bring Byron down to Birmingham, Alabama and have a good visit with their grandmother. One fateful Sunday during their visit in Birmingham, the Watson’s find that the church that their young daughter Joetta is currently attending has been bombed. In a dream-like state of panic Kenny visits the site of the bombed church looking for his little sister. Joetta turns up un-harmed, however, four young girls were found dead. After this, the Watsons pack up and drive back to Flint, Byron included. After seeing the madness at the church, Kenny is going through emotional issues because of the dreadful things he witnessed in Birmingham. With the help of his family, and older brother, he is able to come to terms with what he witnessed. This is a great book about the world from a child’s point of view that has a wide scope of topics that every child can connect with. It is a great connecting book for civil rights issues, especially because the bombing in the book actually did happen in Birmingham in 1963. It is a great book to discuss bullying, individual differences, family, friends, hate, love, and dealing with traumatic events. I highly recommend this book for classroom use!