The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
Written by Christopher Curtis
Reviewed by Kylee H. (age 9)
How many times have you seen someone being cruel to someone, because of their skin color? Not often right? Well, it’s a different story in The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis. I believe Curtis wrote this book to tell a lesson, treat everyone the same.
This book is zany, but also very miserable at times. Kenny Watson, a fourth grade reading genius, is finally meeting his “personal saver”, Ruffus. Byron, an official juvenile delinquent is still getting in trouble. Joey, or, Joetta, is finally starting kindergarten. This book takes place in Flint, Michigan, where it is freezy cold. After one too many times Byron gets in trouble, it’s time to go to Grandma Sands’. Byron sees that people are different wherever you go. But Grandma Sands’ isn’t the cleanest place to be, so many things go wrong.
I think most people would like this book because it is set in a time period where everyone wasn’t treated equally. I think the setting in this book can be a little hard to follow. I think Kenny is by far the best character because he is kind, smart, and funny. The vocabulary in this book is very clear, so it will be easy to understand. It was also a little long, so this may not be for everyone. But I totally recommend reading this book, because it is funny, sad, and sometimes, a little creepy. Sad isn’t always something you want in a story, but it fits right in with this book. The end is very sad I must say, but I’m not going to tell you why, that wouldn’t be fun to give away the ending. Everyone wants a funny book, and this book is very funny, there are many times when you will not stop laughing when you read this book. No matter what you look like, you should really read this book.