Friday, November 11, 2011

The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Title: The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

Category: Class Novel

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Publisher/Year: Yearling / 1995

Genre: Multicultural, Historial Fiction, Young Adult

Awards:
  • Coretta Scott King award (1996)
  • Newbery Honor (1996)
Pages: 210pp

Summary: This book share a collections of stories told from young Kenny's point of view. Kenny lives with his family in Flint, MI in 1963. His older brother Byron is continually getting into trouble and the family finally decides to drive down to Alabama to let Byron spend the summer with his grandmother to shape him up. There are some near fatal incidents that happen while they are in Alabama that forever change Kenny, Byron, and the rest of the family.

Comments: The family is very fun and goofy and the stories are entertaining. It is a great read. I found myself laughing out loud through the book. There are lots of issues addressed in the book, like bullying, friendship, and identity.

Classroom Application:
Lexile: 1000
Age: 10-14 years old
Topics to explore when reading the book:
  • Character development
  • Theme 
  • Word Choice
  • Civil Rights 
  • Bullying
  • Friendship
  • Identity

No comments:

Post a Comment