The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 Paperback – August 6, 2013

The Watsons go to Birmingham -1963 was overall my favorite book of 2016. I just recently read the book in my seventh grade reading class. Personally I thought the novel was a eye-opening, heart-warming, page-turning book. The way the whole book was laid out was brilliant, all of the characters played such an important part in the novel. For example, Byron is a juvenile delinquent, but a softie at heart. In the book when Kenny, Joetta,and By went swimming Joey, and Byron listened to Grandma Sands, and stayed away from Collier’s Landing. Kenny, on the other hand, did not. Before Kenny went swimming Byron told Kenny, and Joetta this long story about Winnie the Poohs evil twin brother, the Wool Pooh. Once Kenny went swimming he got caught in the whirlpool. When Kenny got caught Byron came running after Kenny and jumped in after him. Under the water Kenny thought Byron was the Wool Pooh, and started trying to fight him off. Luckily, Byron was stronger Kenny and managed to pull him back up out of the water. When he did Byron was kissing Kennys head and thanking god that he got there in time. The chapter “I Meet Winnie's Evil Twin Brother, the Wool Pooh” is an amazing way to show how Byron and Kenny feel towards each other. Its also a great example to show how complex Byron's personality is.I also loved how Christopher Paul Curtis came up with all of these family moments that not only brought them closer together but made YOU feel like YOU’RE in the book watching them!The last thing i'm going to add on to my comment is that I would recommend this novel too other young kids my age. It’s an amazing book that you’ll never want to put down!

Great Book for summer reading.

This book came new, it is a great book for a younger age group. It is a classroom read for school. Very pleased with it.

I met Christopher Paul Curtis in 1998 at the International Reading Association Convention. I bought a hardback of this book and got a picture of Curtis and me. I then had him sign my book. He was very nice, and I told him that I couldn't wait to read his book, because I had heard so many wonderful things about it. Fast forward 17 years, and I have just now gotten a chance to read it because I am teaching 6th grade. 😊 Overall, it was a really good book. I loved all the family stories and mischief the boys got into. Only thing I was disappointed in was that I had thought there was going to be more in it about what was going on in history during that time period, but there wasn't anything until the very end. There was so much great story telling in the first 3/4 of the book, and then the last fourth of the book seemed rushed and not fully "fleshed out". I was surprised to hear that my students felt the same way about this. But, nonetheless, it was a really good book, and I can't wait to watch the movie of it (which I don't think will be much like the book).

My 11 year old male cousin Love it because it has his last name Watson

This was an assigned book for school, and my daughter loved it.

This is the only other novel I have read by Curtis and I enjoyed it even more than Bud, Not Buddy. I did not have to read this one in school so I had to track it down myself. I remember listening to the audio version at age eleven or twelve and loving the Watsons and all of their random adventures. The first incident, the one where the elder brother gets his lips stuck to a car mirror in winter because he was kissing his reflection, is one of my favorite moments in fiction so far. The brothers throwing cookies at birds, or eating them until they are sick is easily remembered as well. Even the scenes about school back in the early 60s and the cruelty of kids to those less fortunate was brilliantly done. The last third of the book becomes much more serious with the church bombing, however, and only now that I'm a little older can I appreciate the genius in that. When I was young I didn't really understand the significance of that section of the book and the only thing I remember really enjoying was the "whirlpool" scene which gave me chills. Later, the way the author made everything in this book work and still made it something that anyone can enjoy floors me. Brilliant novel. Absolutely brilliant and I recommend it to all those who didn't already have to read it.

When I first chose this book to read, I only went by the brief description that told what the book was about. Little did I know that when I began to read the book, I would feel as if I, myself was living through the Watsons. They had normal family drama, sibling rivalry, behavioral issues (that now a days, we would put our child on medication for) There are high points in the book as well as low points. But the family pulls together to get through the tough times. Although the book takes place in the 1960's, it seems to encompass some modern day problems in our society. Discrimination is still eminent in our society today but I feel it has gotten a bit better since the time frame in which this story took place. Through Kenny's eyes we are able to uncover what his feelings and fears are towards every day life, his brother and the incidents in Birmingham, Alabama. It is how this family comes through that has drawn me deeper into this book. The audience that I would gear this towards would be grades 5 - 7 because I feel at this age, they are most impressionable and would really allow the Watsons into their learning environment and minds.

I read this book with my kid, what a amusing, engaging read it was... and what nuggets of wisdom strewn all over the book.. We are going to miss the Watson's for sure...

I bought this book for my son to read and he could not put it down. He read it twice. So borrowed it from him and i think it a great read also.

It is so hard to find a good book for young readers. My son is 12 and he does like stories about orphans or monsters. This is the story about a nice family that looks like many other nice families (the tough oldest son included). However, the scene takes place in 1963, and bad things were happening in Birmingham in 1963. The book is nonetheless full of humor. It is extremely well written, with lots of dialogues and situations that are very well captured. My son and I had a good laugh together even if at the climax we didn't want to laugh anymore. A must be read book! Excellent!

It is a good book. I wonder if the wool pooh was or is real. I feel sorry for Kenny.

Livre acheté par obligation pour les cours d'anglais, et finalement il s'est révélé une bonne surprise : beaucoup d'humour, de style, on ne tombe pas dans le pathos, la fin est émouvante. Recommandé à plusieurs personnes. Par contre il faut un assez bon niveau d'anglais pour comprendre certaines expressions qui reproduisent l'accent du Sud (pas du niveau collège, plutôt lycée).