During one of the most important times in the civil rights movement, one unforgettable family goes on a road trip in this Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree, from author Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. A PARADE BEST KIDS BOOK OF ALL TIME When the Watson family—ten-year-old Kenny, Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron—sets out on a trip south to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama, they don’t realize that they’re heading toward one of the darkest moments in America’s history. The Watsons’ journey reminds us that even in the hardest times, laughter and family can help us get through anything. "A modern classic." —NPR “Marvelous . . . both comic and deeply moving.” —The New York Times "One of the best novels EVER." —Jacqueline Woodson, Newbery Honor and National Book Award–winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming

The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

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A Guide for Using the Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 in the Classroom

It is the long, hot summer of 1963 and the Watson family - father, mother, Byron who is behaving like a teenage delinquent, little Joetta and Kenny, the one in the middle who tells the story - set out from Michigan to stay with their Grandma in Alabama. It is the childs first experience of the deep South, and it is devastating when a bomb is thrown into the church and Joetta is presumed dead. The Watsons are a wonderful family who swing you along with their jokes, worries, squabbles, and genuine love and care for one another and this story, despite its tragic message, shines with warmth, humour and joie-de-vivre.