Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Schultz
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Family faces everyday and traumatic events in touching tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 22 parent reviews
Parents say the book presents a mix of strong historical themes and emotional content that may not be suitable for younger readers due to its use of adult language and themes of violence. While many appreciate its educational perspective on black history and family dynamics, there is a consensus that the content may be better suited for an older audience, particularly teens who can more effectively process its heavier themes.
- mature audience recommended
- strong historical themes
- language concerns
- emotional impact
- family dynamics portrayal
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 51 kid reviews
What's the Story?
Ten-year-old Kenny narrates THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM-- 1963, Christopher Paul Curtis' novel about an American family and the civil rights movement. The middle child in the family, Kenny is picked on by his older brother, Byron, and is protective of his little sister, Joetta. Much of this novel focuses on the family's struggles to thrive in their adopted hometown of Flint, Michigan, and on Kenny's relationship with "By," whose reckless misadventures have their parents, Daniel and Wilona, convinced that Byron should go live with Grandma Sands (Wilona's mother) in Birmingham, Alabama. The family takes a road trip to visit Grandma Sands, with the idea of leaving Byron to spend the summer there. But during their visit, a traumatic event terrifies the family, and Kenny sees more than a child his age can handle. Kenny's gradual recovery and the book's epilogue help readers turn fear and sadness into hope for the future.
Is It Any Good?
This novel is full of funny, touching, relatable moments in the life of a 10-year-old boy in the South during the civil rights era. Kenny makes friends (and some mistakes along the way), fights with his big brother, and half understands his parents' struggles to keep their family on an even keel. At the beginning of the book, Kenny refers to his family as the Weird Watsons, but in reality they are a very average, loving, lower-middle-class American family, and this renders what happens in Birmingham all the more shocking. Readers have gotten comfortable inside the Watsons' family life by the time things explode.
Author Christopher Paul Curtis has a wonderful ease with creating relatable young characters, and in this novel he also educates readers about the life and times of Black Americans during the early 1960s. The events are fictional, but just barely, as they relate to real-life tragedies that occurred. This important book contains frightening events and a strong message. Younger readers will do best to read this in a classroom setting or with a parent.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about siblings in The Watsons Go to Birmingham-- 1963. How do Kenny, Byron, and Joetta feel about one another? Do they remind you of your siblings, or others you know?
Why do you think Kenny hides behind the couch? How does Byron help him feel better?
Have you read other books about racism and the U.S. civil rights movement? What seems different to you about the civil rights struggle now as compared with during the time when the book takes place?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Historical Fiction
- Topics : Activism , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , History
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Random House
- Publication date : January 1, 1995
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 13
- Number of pages : 210
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Awards : Coretta Scott King Medal and Honors , Newbery Medal and Honors
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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