Birmingham
by
This novel was recommended to me by an eleven year old who was assigned to read it for her classroom's section on The Civil Rights Movement. It had been a long time since I read a children's book. I can remember when my kids were grade school age I would read them a chapter out of a chapter book at bedtime or when we traveled. I can remember one camping trip in particular when I could not finish reading Where The Red Fern Grows out loud because it was so sad. Times spent reading out Beverly Cleary's books and titles like The Indian In The Cupboard are cherished memories. So I decided to read The Watson's Go To Birmingham even though I do not have a grade school aged child to read it to in my home at this time. Christopher Paul Curtis certainly deserves the awards he has won for this fictional book. It picks up on the way life was in 1963 in America. I was about six years old so it was scary for me to think of the little five year old girl of the Watson family being in the church when the bomb went off. The story is told through the eyes of the Watson's eight year old son. And even though the book contains tragic events it is a book that is a belly laugher from page one. It is about a family who lives in Flint Michigan and takes a trip to see their grandmother in Birmingham Alabama. While there the church is bombed and four little girls are killed. The book is dedicated to the memory of the four young girls who were killed in a real life church bombing in Birmingham in 1963. The events of the bombing are explained through the eyes of an eight year old child. This book is a quick read. It took me 2 1/2 to 3 hours to read it. I believe there is a Hallmark movie inspired by the book if you are not a reader. It would be an important book for educators to introduce into classrooms and families to introduce into their homes. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the video that follows.
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