The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963: Difference between revisions
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'''Mrs. Davidson''' - The Watson's next door neighbor. Mrs. Davidson takes Joey to church with her. Sometimes Mrs. Watson will make Kenny go to Sunday School with Joey. |
'''Mrs. Davidson''' - The Watson's next door neighbor. Mrs. Davidson takes Joey to church with her. Sometimes Mrs. Watson will make Kenny go to Sunday School with Joey. |
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'''Wool Pooh''' - A shadowy, dark character with no face, gray body and face, and square fingers and toes. He appears two times in the story, at Collier's Landing and at the Bombing, grabbing the same shoe as Kenny. The Wool Pooh is the "twin brother" of Winnie the Pooh, as Byron describes him. But the Wool Pooh is actually Grandma Sands' pronunciation of |
'''Wool Pooh''' - A shadowy, dark character with no face, gray body and face, and square fingers and toes. He appears two times in the story, at Collier's Landing and at the Bombing, grabbing the same shoe as Kenny. The Wool Pooh is the "twin brother" of Winnie the Pooh, as Byron describes him. But the Wool Pooh is actually Grandma Sands' pronunciation of whirlpoool |
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Hey boo say I said I. Sadie hi |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 00:51, 16 January 2014
| Author | Christopher Paul Curtis |
|---|---|
| Genre | Juvenile Fiction / Historical Fiction |
| Publisher | Yearling |
Publication date | 1995 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 210 pages+front and back |
| ISBN | 0-385-32175-9 |
| OCLC | 32133739 |
| LC Class | PZ7.C94137 Wat 1995 |
The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 is a historical-fiction novel by Christopher Paul Curtis. It was written in 1995 and republished in 1997. It tells the story of a loving African-American family, living in the town of Flint, Michigan in 1963. When the oldest son begins to get into a bit of trouble, the parents decide he should spend some time with his strict grandmother (Mrs. Watson's mother) in Birmingham, Alabama. The entire family travels there together by car, and during their visit, tragic events take place that affect them collectively.
Although the Watson family is fictitious, the story incorporates and centers around the historically factual 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, a critical catalyst of the American civil-rights movement. Later in 2013, a movie based on the book of the same name was released.
Author Information
The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 was Christopher Paul Curtis' first novel, earning him a Newbery Honor, the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Golden Kite Award. Curtis also penned the Newbery Award-winning novel Bud, Not Buddy.[1][2]
Curtis also penned Bud, Not Buddy; Elijah of Buxton; and The Mighty Miss Malone.
Summary
The book is based in Flint, Michigan, with the narrator, Kenny, introducing his family in a cold house on the couch huddled up together, the "Weird Watsons'". His family includes his dad, his mom, older brother Byron, nicknamed By, and their younger sister Joetta, nicknamed Joey. This section is largely a description of the Watsons' family life: Byron kissing his reflection in a car mirror in January and freezing his lips to the chilled glass, Kenny's friend LJ stealing many of Kenny's toy dinosaurs, the countrified new kids at school, and Byron's sliding into friendship with the bad element in town. It is this last episode that prompts the main conflict in the story, as Byron's behavior worsens. Ultimately he is caught again playing with matches despite having been warned repeatedly against doing just this.
At this point, the family decides Byron should live with his Grandma Sands in Alabama for the Summer and if things don't work out he'll stay there for the next school year. It is, however, when the grandmother's church is bombed that the family decides to return home, with Byron, in an attempt to avoid explaining the full implications of what has happened to the children.
Kenny, having never encountered racism of this magnitude before, is unable to process what has happened—he ran to the church moments after the bombing took place as he believed his sister to be in the building, and saw the aftermath. As a result of the bomb, four little girls had died, one was blinded, and one had to have one of her eyes removed. Byron does his best to help Kenny understand what has happened, as the parents are reluctant to explain. Kenny sees that though the world is not perfect, he has to keep pushing on.
Setting
The book takes place from approximately January to September 1963, a turbulent time during the civil rights movement. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, which took place on September 15, 1963, and proved one of the pivotal events of that year. Segregation, and whether it should be ended, was a hotly debated topic at the time.
Characters
Kenneth "Kenny" Watson - The middle child and narrator of the story. Kenny is ten years old. He has a lazy eye and is an excellent student, both of which make him the target of bullying at Clark Elementary School. Kenny often fights with Byron, and almost always gets back at him.
Joetta "Joey" Watson - The youngest child in the family. Gets along with Byron Watson. She survived the 16th Avenue Church Bombing in Birmingham 1963.
Byron "By" Watson - Byron is the oldest child in the Watsons. He is one that is always getting in trouble. He is the bully of the book and he turns nicer when he has the trip to Alabama.
Wilona Sands Watson - Usually called Momma. She's the mother of the three children and the wife of Daniel. A native of Birmingham, she slips into a thick Southern accent when mad or excited and complains about Flint's harsh winters. She is tough but fair to her children. Whenever Wilona wants to laugh she puts her hand up to her mouth because of a gap between her front two teeth. Wilona wants Byron to become mature and set a good example for Kenny and Joey.
Daniel Watson - Father of the three children. He's known for having a good sense of humor and the husband of Wilona. He is referred to as "Dad". When he and Wilona got married, they promised not to listen to hillbilly music.
Grandma Sands - Wilona's mother, Daniel's mother-in-law, and Byron, Kenny, and Joey's grandmother. She lives in Birmingham, and has an even thicker accent than Wilona. She is known to be a "shrunk-up" version of Wilona. She is also very strict. Byron is sent to her for the summer and possibly for the next school year so that he can change his ways. It's hinted that Grandma Sands has a crush on her friend Mr. Robert. She happens to have very thin blood, she wears heavy robes in warm weather. She has been widowed for 20 years.
Mr. Robert - Grandma Sands' boyfriend. Grandma Sands met Mr. Robert after Grandpa Sands died.
Buphead - Byron's best friend who is also an "official delinquent", helps Byron bully many kids, including his brother. Byron and Buphead stand up for Kenny and Rufus when they're being bullied by Larry.
Rufus Fry - Kenny's new best friend. His family moves to Flint from the South. He and his little brother Cody befriend Kenny. He isn't very well with bonding in school.
Cody Fry - Rufus's little brother. Cody wears Rufus's hand me downs. He gets bullied a lot as well as his brother because of his voice.
Lawrence "Larry" Dunn - Kenny and Rufus's bully at school. Like Byron and Buphead, Larry was held back.
LJ Jones - A boy who was briefly friends with Kenny. LJ Liked to steal Kenny's toy dinosaurs, and so the two of them stopped playing together. Kenny then began playing dinosaurs with Rufus.
Mrs. Davidson - The Watson's next door neighbor. Mrs. Davidson takes Joey to church with her. Sometimes Mrs. Watson will make Kenny go to Sunday School with Joey.
Wool Pooh - A shadowy, dark character with no face, gray body and face, and square fingers and toes. He appears two times in the story, at Collier's Landing and at the Bombing, grabbing the same shoe as Kenny. The Wool Pooh is the "twin brother" of Winnie the Pooh, as Byron describes him. But the Wool Pooh is actually Grandma Sands' pronunciation of whirlpoool Hey boo say I said I. Sadie hi
References
- ^ Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present, American Library Association, retrieved 2009-01-17
- ^ Coretta Scott King Book Award Complete List of Recipients—by Year, American Library Association, retrieved 2009-01-17
The book takes place from approximately January to September 1963, a turbulent time during the civil rights movement. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, which took place on September 15, 1963, and proved one of the pivotal events of that year. Segregation, and whether it should be ended, was a hotly debated topic at the time.