The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

Rating:
Summary: wonderful! hard to put down
Review: My 10 year old daughter read this book while we were on vacation and begged me to read it too. I am a fifth grade teacher and was so taken by her enthusiam, I put down my book and read hers. It was a wonderful read! I hope to read this to my class in the Fall. It is a book I think both boys and girls will love...full of life and real family experiences. It is touchingly sad and joyous without being preachy or sentimental. it is also a refreshingly clear look at an important period in our history. Teachers, parents, kids...this is a great book to read. Don't miss it!

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Summary: Watsons a hit in Winnetka!
Review: My sixth grade class greatly enjoyed this heartwarming novel. Above all its many merits, this is one hilarious book, which works especially well as a read-aloud. Within the first chapter, my students were rolling on the floor with laughter and I had tears coming out of my eyes. It is truly hysterical. But the brilliance of the novel is the weaving of humor with important lessons about family, love, and racial problems faced in the 60s, which invariably leads to excellent discussions of prejudice and racism today. It got to the point where my students would beg me to read the book and they had long faces if we got too busy to read it for a day or two. Bravo to Mr. Curtis for his outstanding work. It would have gotten my Newbery vote!

Rating:
Summary: Quick, witty, charming, great read
Review: I picked this book up from a book fair at the school I worked at, and let me tell you it was the best money I ever spent, well in recent memory. The author does a great job of turning a tragic event into a heartwarming story about a family and the trials they went through to come back together again. The fact that he used that horrible, inhuman event to do it took a lot of guts and creativity. The characters in the book were very well developed, they were also very believeable. I have reccommended this book to several of my friends to read. I had my doubts about the book when I realized what moment in time it as centered around, but I took a chance and read it and I am glad that I did. It was quick reading but to the point. I would suggest that anybody who remembers the turbulent 60's should read this manuscript.

Rating:
Summary: redundant
Review: I greatly disliked this book (even though my younger sister loved it) because I felt it was very redundant to many books of the same topic. The dialect, tone, and general plot of the narrative seemed very stereotypical of the average story about a black family during this time period in America. I was looking for something new and innovative from a new author's first attempt, and was disappointed to read something I had already read many times before.

Rating:
Summary: This book was funny yet serious hard to put down!
Review: This book was about a black family facing prejudice. I liked this book because it was funny and serious. The main idea was that Kenny, the Watson's teenage son, did a lot of things that were bad but he turned out to be a good kid. My teacher read this book out loud to our class. We really enjoyed it. Read it you'll like it!

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Summary: The Watsons Go to Birmingham was a very exciting book.
Review: The Watson's Go to Birmingham is very exciting. Its a family of five who plan a road trip to Birmingham, Alabama to see their grandmother. They are going because one brother Byron is always misbehaving and keeps on getting into more and more trouble. The grandmother can straighten up a boy faster than a road runner on a hot day. Kenny is a smart boy with a lazy eye, and he's the narrator. Byron is the mean brother who is always doing bad things to cars, animals, and especially his brother Kenny. The parents are really strong but not that strict because they keep on letting Byron do these stupid and cruel things to others. On the road the Watson's see thing that they wish they hadn't seen. In some parts they get very scared but I don't want to give away anything. I know a lot of people will love this book because of all the funny and heartbreaking thing that happen in The Watson's Got to Birmingham. I know that its a great book and I know you'll love it as much as I did. This book is a great book to read for a research project.

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Summary: There is always something happning.
Review: Once you get into this book you will not want to put it down. This book was funny too. I wish every book was like this one.READ IT.

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Summary: This story is about a family who goes through a lot.
Review: The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963 By Christopher Paul Curtis

Shaina Morrison group # 63 This story is about a family who goes through a lot in their humble home in Flint, Michigan. The family has two boys, one girl, a mother and a father. The oldest brother (Byron) is always in trouble, he wants to keep his " bad boy " rep. Finally his parents have had enough and want to send him to Birmingham with his old- fashioned Grandma. If you love books that are hilarious with a historical serious edge this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: A story about an happy, lovable, family.
Review: The main character, Kenny, the middle child of the family. Tells the story and watches his older brother (Byron) get in trouble. Byron is a thirteen year old child delinquent. Who causes trouble at home and at school. He does not seem to mind what little consequences that he gets. His mother decides it is time for a change. Joey, the youngest child in the family thinks that it is her duty to stand up her for her brothers. Byron gets annoyed by her but she just shakes it off. Momma sees that Byron is getting in a lot of trouble lately. She decides to move him down south with Grandma Sands, a mean old lady). When they get there they may stay or not? This story who is very strict. The entire family goes down in their Brown Bomber (car takes place in the 1960's. This story is really great!

Rating:
Summary: A story of a twelve year old and his family's life.
Review: This story is a heart-warming story to read. The main character is a boy named Kenny. He has a self-centered, older brother named Byron, and a whiny younger sister named Joey. Byron is a troublemaker and is sent to Birmingham to clean up his act. He steals, doesn't listen to his parents and does other devilish acts. Kenny is always stuck in the middle of Byron's troublemaking Byron and Kenny were never really very good friends, but after the trip to Birmingham, everyone's life changes in one way or another. This is a good book to read if you like reading funny, family togetherness stories.