A review by emily_m_green
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

 

In The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, Kenny Watson tells us that there’s a reason his family is known as the Weird Watsons. His mother’s Southern upbringing makes her react to the Michigan winters by making the children wear so many layers that they are dripping with sweat by the time they get to school. His father is full of extra wacky dad jokes. And his older brother, Byron, is so cool he’s always getting into some sort of trouble. Kenny’s only friend seems to play with him only to steal his toys. 

But life is changing--Byron is causing even more havoc, a new family with a boy Kenny’s age moves in, and the country is going through turmoil, particularly in the still segregated South. 

The Watson Go to Birmingham is funny, silly, and sad, as Kenny navigates an older brother who can be cruel or caring, a younger sister who can be a pain, and all of the social difficulties a ten-year-old can have nightmares about. The book is told mostly in vignettes, and many chapters feel as though they could stand independently. The last part of the book feels more coherent and plot driven, but it is also more emotionally intense. 

In his introduction to the edition I read, Christopher Paul Curtis describes the reactions he has received from kids who said that they never liked to read until they read The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, and the book was unusual in its time (1995) in terms of a major publishing house (Penguin Random House) releasing a middle grade novel about an African American family who is comfortably working class and full of humor. The book certainly has its share of tension, but it does not always stay at a dramatic pitch and allows us to see the family being a normal, silly family. The book is, in part, about race in the United States, but it is not all about race. In fact, the majority of Kenny’s challenges have nothing to do with race. 

Would I teach this novel? I teach the book as part of a unit during African American History Month, and students have the option to choose The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 from five novels. The students who chose to take the trip with the Watsons are surprised at the mother’s physical forms of discipline--she believes in corporal punishment, which is unfamiliar to many of them. They see her as abusive, with no frame of reference for physical discipline. For me, this reminded me of how much parenting has changed in the last sixty years. Students also questioned if it was appropriate for the father to mock Southern accents, which also shows how understanding of race and class have changed since 1995--I don’t think many middle schoolers in 1995 would have batted an eye at such humor. For these reasons among others, some frame of reference for 1960s America would be helpful for students to get some of the context of the story, though it is not necessary for them to appreciate the book. So, yes, there are many aspects of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 that will help create discussions and make the students want to keep reading.