Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963 By Christopher Paul Curtis

The book starts off in Flint, Michigan in the middle of winter. The oldest son is named Byron and is a sixth grader that runs his school, Clark elementary. He bullies his younger brother Kenny. He is the narrator of the book. He is a fourth grader. The youngest of child is named Joetta (also known as Joey). She is in kindergarten. Kenny always gets bullied at Clark. His brother and his best friend love to push him around and make fun of him. Until a new student comes into the school. Rufus Fry. His family is poor and Rufus and his brother often wear the same things day by day. Kenny thought since the new kid was poor more people would make fun of him and the attention would be taken off of him. But since Rufus and Kenny became pretty close they were both made fun of.

Getting back on to Byron, he is a bad kid, who often gets in loads of trouble. He gets into fights at school and is doing bad in school. He’s even got his lips stuck on a car mirror while trying to kiss his reflection in the mirror in the below freezing! But there was one specific time that made their dad have enough. When he got his hair dyed. They decide that Byron needs to have a trip to Grandma Sands house down in Birmingham, Alabama. Momma grew up in Birmingham with Grandma sands and they think it will get Byron’s act together. Kenny thought that dad was lying about sending Byron down. Until they hopped in the car for their eighteen hour car trip. They stop at a few rest stops with outdoor bench toilets and go into the Appalations. When they finally arrive in Birmingham, Byron decides to get his act together a little. But Kenny is having issues with heat exhaustion. He wants to go swimming but Grandma Sands told them not to go swimming in Collier’s landing because there was a whirlpool that killed a kid a few years prier.

To help the younger kids understand better Byron tells them a story about Winnie The Pooh’s evil twin the “wool Pooh” that suckes little kids under the water and drowns them. Joey is scared for her life but Kenny was not buying it. He still goes into the water and her nearly drowns, but Byron manages to save him on time. In the meantime, Joey goes to Sunday school with a few of her friends and Grandma Sands to 16th Street Baptist (a real church in Birmingham) a bomb was set off in the basement of the church. The family hears the set off and rushes to the church and was able to find Joey. Joey managed to survive the bombing and she was able to walk back to the house. She later told Kenny that she wasn’t even in the church when the bomb went off.

Later that night the Watsons experienced a racist experience at a restaurant {when racism was still alive in the south} they realized that Alabama wasn’t a place for them. They went back to Flint the next morning. All of them. When the come back home the bomb was still affecting Kenny. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. After a talk with Byron he realizes that he wants to be part of the family again.