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Summary: Move over, Bill Cosby
Review: This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Chris Curtis is a major talent. He is just as funny as Bill C. Don't miss this book. Note to Jay Leno: you're missing a big bet if you don't have Chris on your show telling how his character got his tongue stuck to the car mirror! Curtis deserves every award he has won, and more!
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Summary: The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963
Review: This book takes place in the 1960's. It begins in Flint, Michigan, and follows the adventures of the Watson family, through the narration of ten year old Kenny. One of the things I liked about this book is how the author blends humourus fiction with historical events.This book is very entertaining, and has a few hilarous events that fit nicely with the the serios time period of the Civil Rights movement. I reccommend this book to anyone who is looking for an interesting, entertaining, easy-to-read book.
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Summary: The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963
Review: The Watsons Go to Birmingham is a wonderful story about a family in Michigan during the Civil Rights Movement. The family survives tragedy and humiliation. Each character in his book has a different personality and all the personalities put together make a usual family. I think that some of the most interesting and hilarious things in the book are the characters. They are a huge part of the story. Byron, Kenny's thirteen-year-old brother(an "official juvenile delinquent"), absolutely adores himself. "You know what square? I must be adopted, cause there just ain't no way two folks as ugly as your momma and daddy coulda give birth to someone as sharp as me!" says Byron on page 8. Byron is extremely comical. Kenny, the narrator of the story, has a lazy eye and is made fun of at school all of the time. Kids call him poindexter, professor, and egghead. Kenny really dislikes Byron and he hates how his sister Joetta always stands up for Byron.(Kenny dislikes Byron because Byron always makes fun of him.) Joetta who is Kenny's little sister tries to act like her mom all of the time. Mrs. Watson has a southern accent so Joetta would sometimes talk in a southern accent too. Joetta kind of favors Byron. Mr. Watson, Daniel, is also comical and makes fun of Byron a lot. He calls Byron "Daddy Cool" because Byron thinks that he is so cool. Mr. Watson is very nice though. He is always there when his family needs him. Mrs. Watson, Wilona, is kind of harsh. When Byron was playing with matches, Mrs. Watson tried to burn Byron's finger. Joetta jumped out and protected Byron so that Byron didn't get burned. At the beginning of the book, Christopher Paul Curtis creates Byron as a rude, misbehaved thirteen-year-old. Mr. and Mrs. Watson decide that they should bring Byron to Grandma Sand's house for the summer... or as long as it takes for Byron to behave! Kenny pictured Grandma Sands as a tall, strong, mean woman. She ended up looking like a miniature Momma, but her skin was wrinkly. Christopher Paul Curtis is also good at writing about tragedy. He wrote about the sixteenth street church bombing in this book. He wrote about how everyone in the town heard a "boom" and the town became frantic. People ran left and right, screaming about whether or not their child was dead or alive. Four unfortunate girls were not so lucky. They were killed in the blast.(Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley) The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963 is a story of courage and despair. I think that Christopher Paul Curtis' message in this book is that life and your family and friends are the most precious things that you can find. I think that the book is absolutely terrific. I give it five stars.
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Summary: "The Watson's go to Birmingham-1963"
Review: The Watson's Go to Bermingham-1963 Would you like to be black in Alabama in 1963?I thought a lot about this while I was reading , "The Watson's go to Bermingham-1963" by Christoher Paul Curtis.I cannot imagine that I am black and am in Alabama.It must have been an experience of a lifetime. This book helped me realize the point of having a family.I never thought about death before I read this book Four insentient girls were killed, because of the bombing of the church in Alabama,during Sunday school. The author does a good job of character description.He describes the characters very well,by using hyperbole.He uses words like"It was about a zillion degrees below zero.""His lips stretched a thousand miles." These are some examples of hyperbole.He also made up some of the jokes like the wool pooh or know as whirlpool. He uses three main charters.They are Kenny,Byron, and Jeotta.One incident happens to each character.Four girls died during the bombing in Alabama of a church.They are Addie Collis,Denise McNair,Carole Robertson,and Cyntia Wesley.When you go to bed to night pray for the girls that died in 1963.The tragedy changed the Watson's lives. On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a(6). 1=don't bother 2=not the best 3= not bad 4=getting better 5=o.k. 6=good 7=fair 8=great 9=excellent
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Summary: The Watson's go to Birmingham
Review: I liked The Watsons go to Birmingham because it made you laugh in about every sentence! For example, when the Watson kids called their brown car "the turd on wheels." I think the author made the book like it was real. I think the book made you feel like you were in the setting because of all the details. I gave this book four stars because I didn't get the part about the Wool Pooh, Winnie the Pooh's evil twin brother. Besides that, it was great! My favorite character was Byron who thinks he's too cool for anybody. I would recommend this book to you because of all the humorous moments!
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Summary: The Watsons go to birmingham1963
Review: Have you ever read a book that's actually interesting even though it's dated back in history? The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963 is a good example. It's a great book by Christopher Paul Curtis. It's the kind of book that you can relate to. You can really feel the pain and humor the Watsons go through. Christopher Paul Curtis can really make you understand the hurt and constant worries of being black in 1963. Christopher Paul Curtis makes the characters so realistic. Strict is one way of putting Momma. She becomes so strict she warns the kids that she would burn Byron and Kenny if she ever catches them playing with fire. Dad the joker. He likes to make jokes so that Momma laughs and you can see the hole between her teeth. This part is really funny. Byron is the troublemaker. Being the oldest in the family he really tests Momma and Dad to see his boundaries and ends up getting into loads of trouble. Kenny is self-conscious. He has a lazy eye so he always feels bad about him self. The plot is about a black family living in flint Michigan during 1963. Ten-year-old Kenny is often picked on because of his lazy eye. Soon two new kids from the south show up talking with an accent and wearing ragged clothes. Now the bullies had new kids to pick on besides Kenny. Soon Kenny became a friend with the new kids named Rufus and his younger brother Cody. Being a "official" teenage juvenile delinquent, skipping school and getting into loads of trouble is all in a day's work for Byron. Once Momma caught Byron paying with matches and if it weren't for Joetta his little over protective sister, Byron would have had burned fingers. Then like it wasn't enough Byron comes home with a new hairdo. He knows how Momma and dad feel about putting "those chemicals" into his hair, but he did it anyway. Momma and Dad just can't control Byron any more. You can see what I mean by the Watsons acting like a real family. They have real problems just like a real family and have fun just like a real family. This story takes place back in 1963 when it was a dangerous place to be black. This time period was called the Civil Rights Movement. In the northern, eastern and Western states, African Americans often faced discrimination. Communities and states passed laws that allowed discrimination in schooling, housing, and job opportunities; prohibited interracial marriages and enforced segregation by creating separate facilities for African Americans and whites. I think that the color of you skin in not important in a person. It's what is in the inside that counts. If I had to rate this book on great, good, ok and poor I would definitely rate it great. I would rate it great because I think it has humor, sadness, and things you can relate to. It's a great way to find out how a black family had to live during the Civil Rights Moment. So if you want to read a great book full of enjoyment read The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963.
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Summary: The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963
Review: Book Review For Watsons The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 is a fascinating story about a family during the Civil Rights Movements. Although the story dates back in history it is very interesting. The story was written by Christopher Paul Curtis. Important events occur not only in this family, but also others. The following will tell more in depth about the story. First, the beginning of The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 is in Flint, Michigan. The Watsons are different than the other families in the community. Momma and Daddy decide to go to Birmingham, Alabama because of Byron`s miss behavior. They are planning to leave him down there for the summer, and make even leave him through a year of school. Byron is astonished to learn this! After racing back from Alabama Kenny is surprised find himself in the World Famous Watsons Pet Hospital. It shows real creativity how Mr. Curtis makes this family, and sets their story during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. The book makes me realize what was going on at this time. Next, Christopher Paul Curtis does a great job on picking the characters actions. He makes the book fun, interesting, and unique. In this book, the Watsons are a family of five. Joetta the youngest of the family is a cry baby and tattles about everything. Kenny who is the narrator of the story and also the middle child, likes to look up to Byron his older brother. Kenny also likes to do the right things and is self conscious. Byron the oldest of the children has bad choosing of friends and likes to pick fights. He gets into a lot of trouble. The family mother does not like when her family members go out and buy stuff with out telling her, and is very strict. The family father is also very strict and thinks his car is the most important thing. He is also the humorous character in the book. Then, have you ever wondered what it would be like when blacks (colored) and whites were separated by segregation- in schools, bathrooms and drinking fountains, and more? If you want to know, then I would say The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 is a good book for you. The book is very factual. It is full of humor, tragedy, and happiness. The book is very detailed. The book does not keep you on your toes on what is going to happen next. Next, The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 is Christopher Paul Curtis' first published book. While in his twenties he practiced his detailed writing by sending love letters to his now wife. For example "Dad was doing his best not to explode laughing. Big puffs of smoke were coming out of his nose and mouth as he tried to squeeze his laughs down. Finally he put his head on his arms and leaned against the car's hood and howled." That is an example of his detailed writing. He has a wife Kasyandra and two children, Steven and Cydney. Steven is twenty-one and Cydney is 7. They make up the family that encouraged and gave him a year to see what he could come up with. That year he would get up at 5 am. At this time he would revise his earlier days writing. At 8 am he would head to the Children`s` Library. What he wrote was higher than his family`s expectations. The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 received many awards including the New berry Honor, Correta Scott King Honor, and ALA Best Book. I think the book deserves all of these honors for many reasons. One of these reasons includes that he has very detailed writing. For example, he can change a boring car ride to three chapters of fun filled delightful time. For some final information, if you read this book, we will say that you will want to keep on reading to you get to the end. It might seem like it starts slow, but it really does get better. There are a ton of events that happen before the climax does. When you get to the climax, you will think one thing happens, then another thing happens that changes the whole story. In a way you think you might know the ending, but the author has a different ending. All in all, the book is very interesting. If we were to rate it from the worst book we have ever read at one star to the best book we have ever read at ten stars we would rate it with a nine star. We say this because the end of the book really did not explain much on what happened later on when Joetta might find out about her miserable past. The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 is very fascinating and informative on what happened during the Civil Rights Movement.
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Summary: The Mequon Post Book Review of The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Review: Andrew Yount Evan Hosseini ELA- MS 4/6/2000 Mequon Post Book Review of The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963 Have you ever wanted to read a good book that took place during the Civil Rights Movement? Well this book is all that and more. Now let me tell you a little bit about it. The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis, is a comical, and sad story of a family that lives in Flint, Michigan who go to Birmingham, Alabama to visit their grandma, and to drop off their troublesome teenager there for the summer, so their grandma can teach him a lesson. The story doesn't start in Birmingham though, it starts in Flint and, takes the Watsons almost the whole book till they finally go to Birmingham, Alabama. This book takes place back during the civil rights movement, and the the Watsons are a "colored" family, so you must imagine that the Watsons had to go through many hardships in Birmingham. Kenny the narrator goes through a big personality change, and so does his brother Byron, [the troublesome teenager]. Byron starts out in the book as a bully who only cares about himself. At one time, Byron was "the lead dog" in the family according to him. Towards the end of the book Byron is a caring brother who cares about his family. Kenny, the narrator, is a nice, and normal kid when the book starts out, but after an incident that took in Birmingham he doesn't think he can really trust other people, but his family. He hides behind the couch for a long time, so "the magic powers" can help him find out more about himself. The magic powers are something Kenny believes in, and they live behind the couch. Kenny thinks the magic powers help his hurt pets, because whenever his pets get hurt, they go behind the couch. When the animals come out they end up feeling better. There are many themes in this book. some of them are, that racial discrimination can be painful to a family, and can destroy the lives of people. Kenny learns that a friend isn't just someone you play with, it is some one you trust and value as a person. This book also deals with how people deal with loss. I give this book four stars out of five, which means this book is good, but not excellent. If I could change something in this book I would put more action in it to make it more exciting. Towards the end the book jumps from event to event without explaining things inbetween events. If I were the author, that is another thing I would change.
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Summary: The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963
Review: THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM 1963 If you think your family is strange, then you haven't met the Watsons. The Watsons are a black family that lived in Flint Michigan in 1963. At that time there was a lot of discrimination. The book is about how the Watsons take a trip to Birmingham to visit their Grandma Sands. In the story they survive the Sixthteenth Street Church Bombing. Humor is one of the keywords in this book. In the novel Christopher Paul Curtis relates some of the humor from his life. For example, when Byron, the brother of Kenny kisses himself on the cold mirror and gets his lips stuck. In real life Christopher Paul Curtis had a friend go out in winter and start the car, when he started the car, he saw himself in the windshield.He kissed himself and got his lips stuck to the freezing windshield. The author also connected his own life to the book alot. Christopher Paul Curtis grew up in Flint Michigan and knew what it was like to be a black at that time. He also connected his own life to the book. For example, the Watsons went to Clark Elementary School. In real life Christopher Paul Curtis went to Clark Elementary School. We also connected our own life with Kenny's, Nick and Kenny have somethings in common. We both have a younger tattle tale sister. We both get made fun of at school, him because he reads well and I do because I'm short.Chris and Kenny do not have much in common.Chris is not made fun of as much as kenny.Also Chris has a younger brother not a sister. In conclusion I give this book five stars. I think that it was a grrrrrrreat book because it was fun to read and we could not put it down.
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Summary: The Watson's Go to Birmingham 1963
Review: The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 By Christopher Paul Curtis If comedy, tragedy, and humiliation is what you are looking for in a good book, I can guarantee you this is the one for you! Christopher Paul Curtis does a wonderful job making the Weird Watsons in The Watsons Go to Birmingham almost come alive. Some of the hilarious incidents in this book happened in his life, like the setting begins where he was born. And the school Kenny went to is the school he went to for grade school. So because of the way he related his life to this kooky family, this magical book received two major awards; the Newberry Honor and the Coretta King Honor. Byron Watson is the best example of Christopher Paul Curtis's funny side. The way he makes Byron so full of himself that he gets in trouble is just hilarious. For example, when he dyed his hair red because he thought it looked cool, when he got his head shaved it was really funny. And when he lit toilet paper parachutes on fire and dropped them into the toilet, the chapter ends by saying, "Captain Byron Watson Gets Captured and Buried Alive by the Evil Snake Woman with his own Flamethrower of Death." So as you can see, even though this ends in a tragedy, it does have some funny lines. But one really great thing Christopher Paul Curtis does is he lets the characters in the book tell the story of the terrible tragedy in 1963. The way he writes makes the Watsons come alive and really gets you into the book. When you normally read about American history, it really depends on the person you are, but most people find it just a little boring. And it gives you a sense of feeling like you were really there and it happened to your family. It makes this novel so much more interesting. Another great thing the author does is dialect and choice of vocabulary. When you read it, it feels like you are really there in the room as Byron is getting yelled at for his hair. It makes you feel like you are really there when you read about the look on Kenny and By's faces when they realized By killed the bird. Curtis makes you feel like you are there in that important point in history and are feeling the family's pain during the bombing. The dialect is so important and adds color to the story. So if you are looking for a book that you just can't put down without reading another chapter, this is the book. It will remind you of how racist people can be and how it effects the people who are different. This is a GREAT book and I would give it four out of four stars. That is how much I like this book and would highly recommend it as a trade book in the classroom, or reading it just for fun. Whatever the case may be this is a wonderful book and I suggest you should read it. You will get a lot out of it.
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