MMGM: The Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963

I have been a big fan of Christopher Paul Curtis ever since I read BUD, NOT BUDDY. He hasn’t disappointed me yet in his other books either. I particularly enjoyed ELIJIAH BUXTON and THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE. Somehow I had never got around to reading his very first book, THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM.

Now I have, and if you haven’t read this one yet, you are in for a treat.

Here is the synopsis from Amazon:

 Enter the hilarious world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. There's Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron, who's thirteen and an "official juvenile delinquent." When Momma and Dad decide it's time for a visit to Grandma, Dad comes home with the amazing Ultra-Glide, and the Watsons set out on a trip like no other. They're heading South to Birmingham, Alabama, toward one of the darkest moments in America's history.

What I loved about this book:

1. Humor: There are many books who will make me smile, but this book actually made me laugh out loud. The first chapter and the tongue incident are not to be missed. And the Watson parents have the most ingenious (and hilarious) punishments.
2. Child-like POV: Curtis is a master at capturing a childlike POV. I loved how Kenny believed some of his big brother Byron’s stories, even though they were outrageous, how he viewed his parents, and bullies. About bullies, Kenny says, “I don’t know why bullies have such a good sense of humor, but they do.” Who hasn’t felt that way at times?
3. Bullies: Bullies have been way overdone in kid’s lit, but I loved how Curtis treated them in the Watsons. The bullies weren’t just two-dimensional egomaniacs. They were three-dimensional, funny and smart with some of the best lines. Byron, Kenny’s brother, was a bully, yet stuck up for Kenny and got upset over a dead bird.
4. Civil Rights issues dealt with in a gentle way. Although I was expecting that the Civil Rights movement would play a bigger part in this book than it did, I thought the treatment of what went on in Birmingham was gentle enough, especially as seen through Kenny’s eyes, to make this book accessible to kids on the younger end of the middle grade spectrum. Also, the marvelous use of humor balanced out the harsh things the Watsons encountered and made them all the more sympathetic and real.
5. Episodic vs. Plot-Driven: Although the episodic nature of Watsons is a departure from most contemporary kidlit, I thought it really worked well here. Each chapter was a story in itself with the main plot of Byron’s troublemaking the Watson’s journey to Birmingham tying everything together. If you’re a writer thinking of doing an episodic story, this would be one to study.

 

I could go on and on about the things I loved about this book. My only quibble was a plot point with the Grandma and the strange tangent about magic at the end. But all in all, this is a wonderful book. I’ve had a challenging month as I have a family member seriously ill, so this book was just the medicine needed.

If you like Curtis’ other books, slice-of-life historicals, or The Christmas Story, you will love this book.

If you have read it, and want to continue in Kenny's world, Hallmark made a movie of it last year. I haven't seen it yet, but there is more info here.

Have you read any middle grades that made you laugh recently?



If you're looking for Marvelous Middle Grade suggestions, check out Shannon Messenger's blog.