Chapter Book 3

Title: The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Genre: Historical Fiction

Subgenre: Juvenile Fiction

Theme: Civil Rights Movement, Family
Primary Characters: Kenny, Byron 

Date of publication: 1995; Newberry Honor and Coretta Scott King Award

Publishing Company: Yearling

Summary: The Watsons go to Birmingham is about a family, the Watsons, who live in Flint Michigan during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. The main character is Kenny; he is the middle child. Kenny has an older brother named Byron, who is nothing but trouble and a younger sister named Joetta. Byron’s bad behavior throughout the book leads his parents to decide the best place for him would be to live with his grandmother in Birmingham for the summer. While the family is down south, the family almost suffers a terrible loss during the 16^th Street Baptist Church bombing.

This book is important for students to read that are in middle school or have the maturity to handle a situation like this. Kenny’s perspective adds humor to the book and gives a light hearted feeling but it still is deeply emotional when it involves the church bombing. I would read this book more than once. It is the type of book that you may be able to get more out of it, the more times you read it.