The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

Christopher Paul Curtis

Nov 2001 · Sold by Delacorte Press

About this ebook

During one of the most important times in the civil rights movement, one unforgettable family goes on a road trip in this Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree, from author Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

When the Watson family—ten-year-old Kenny, Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron—sets out on a trip south to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama, they don’t realize that they’re heading toward one of the darkest moments in America’s history. The Watsons’ journey reminds us that even in the hardest times, laughter and family can help us get through anything.
 
"A modern classic." —NPR

“Marvelous . . . both comic and deeply moving.” —The New York Times

"One of the best novels EVER." —Jacqueline Woodson, Newbery Honor and National Book Award–winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming

Ratings and reviews

This book is really really good. So people who ever want to read it you should because its really dramatic and funny at the same time. There are some naughty words but thats not really bad.The really bad thing is Kenny the main character has to go through some really hard stuff.So have fun reading this because at the end you will be suprised how every thing had ended up in this book

I had to read this for my class. Overall I thought it was a very good book. However the story did not really focus enough on the main point .From the title I would assume it was about a family going to Birmingham and their stay there. It did include that but a the very end of the story and there was not much about their stay. The epilogue is about their stay around the time civil rights movement , but i did not really see that in the story.

This chapter book follows 10 year old Kenny and his family from Michigan on a trip to Birmingham, Alabama. It is a realistic fiction novel about the bombing of a church with young girls inside.

About the author

Christopher Paul Curtis won the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award for his bestselling second novel, Bud, Not Buddy. His first novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, was also singled out for many awards, and has been a bestseller in hardcover and paperback. His most recent novels for Random House include The Mighty Miss Malone, Mr. Chickee's Messy Mission, Mr. Chickee's Funny Money, and Bucking the Sarge.

Christopher Paul Curtis grew up in Flint, Michigan. After high school he began working on the assembly line at the Fisher Body Plant No. 1 while attending the Flint branch of the University of Michigan. He is now a full-time writer, and lives with his family in Windsor, Ontario.