This is part of my series reviewing the 100 Best Children's Chapter Books of All Time, as determined by Children's Book Guide. Click on the book title link for the book description on Goodreads. .
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, Christopher Paul Curtis, originally published 1995
Review
So, I lied. In my last post, I said I was reading Insurgent next - but when I crawled in bed to read it for a few minutes before drifting off to dreamland (yes, I know, probably not the best book for dreamland) I didn't get past the first paragraph before encountering names I didn't remember. I read Divergent, the prequel to this book, several months ago and I clearly needed a refresher. Since I wasn't about to get out of bed to fire up the computer, I moved to the next book on my list. I figured I'd read a few chapters to get started and then switch back to Insurgent the next day. That was before I read the first chapter - and realized The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 was going to be a fun, easy and quick read.
I have to admit to having apprehensions about this book. By the title and the book cover, I could tell it was about a black family in the civil rights era South. I was worried it was going to be a Very Important Book about A Terrible Time In Our History and it would hold Many Important Lessons about Respecting Differences and Being Kind To Others and all manner of other morality tales that make me want to gag. Not that I don't agree that respecting differences and being kind to others is important, but I hate being preached at by a book. I have good parents, they already beat all that into me!
Fortunately, The Watsons (as it shall hereby be abbreviated) was none of that - yet still managed to impart those lessons and teach a little history. It is narrated by Kenny Watson, a 9-year-old black boy living in Flint, MI with his parents, older brother Byron (By) and younger sister Joetta (Joey). While the "In Memory Of'" had me worried it was going to be a heavy book about the struggle for civil rights, it was mostly a story of what it was like to be a 9-year-old boy growing up somewhat poor in 1960s Michigan - the fact that the narrator was black didn't really play into the story that much. Which is a brilliant move on the author's part as race didn't become a distraction to the story. I felt like Kenny was very relatable, across racial boundaries. While a very different writing style than Beverly Cleary, Christopher Paul Curtis seems to "get" what it is to be a 9-year-old boy just like I feel Cleary "gets" what it is to be a 6 to 9-year-old girl in the Ramona books (note: I am a HUGE Cleary fan - so this means I just paid Curtis a big compliment). Oh, and he's funny. I was laughing out loud by the first chapter and kept interrupting Michael's reading to make him listen to passages.
While Kenny is just trying to navigate the difficulties of being a nerdy kid with a lazy eye in a school with its fair share of bullies, older By is well on his way to becoming a hoodlum. By is the impetus for the Watsons traveling to Birmingham as he is being sent to live with his grandmother in hopes of straightening him up. I love Curtis's descriptions of the road trip to Alabama and Kenny's impressions upon reaching the hot and humid south. I could definitely relate! Even in Alabama, there are no heavy-handed racial overtones, just 3 kids enjoying the summer by swimming and cutting up. It wasn't until the second to last chapter that hate rears its ugly head in this ultimately gentle book. Curtis does an excellent job of expressing the fear that Kenny experiences and, because he has engendered empathy in the reader for Kenny, I could feel that fear and despair as well. The book ends with a brief epilogue that details what was going on in the South in the 1960s and lists the heroes of the civil rights era, but I think the real genius in the book is how a kid reading this book could see similarities between him and his family and Kenny and the Watsons, which makes the hate shown them seem unreasonable. Because (and here I'm going to go all cliche on y'all), what's going to stop racism but understanding that each and every one of us, no matter our race, is God's creation and has the same hopes and dreams, nightmares and difficulties, as the next person? So yeah, I guess this book did have a Very Important Lesson - but the enjoyable way it delivers it is far more effective than an overbearing morality tale.
Things to be aware of:
1. There are a handful of cursing incidents with a--, d---, and h--- being the words of choice. I will note that I didn't feel these were extremely gratuitous and were used to establish the wayward nature of By. It is made clear that Dad and Momma do not approve of using language and they punish such unacceptable behavior when they are aware of it.
2. Momma uses OMG three times.
3. There is the implication that Grandma Sands and Mr. Roberts are living together, unmarried.
4. A fair amount of bullying and the violence that comes with it is described in the book.
100 Best Books Inclusion
Sure.
I have decided on four rankings: "No, Absolutely No" means I thought the book was terrible and should never ever be considered a top 100 book. "Meh" means I didn't actively dislike the book, but it didn't light my fire like a top 100 book should. "Sure" means I enjoyed the book and I have no problems with its inclusion in the top 100 and "Yes, Absolutely Yes" means I loved the book and to keep it off the top 100 would be a crime.
Rank
1. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, Christopher Paul Curtis, 1995
2. Inkheart, Cornelia Funke, 2003
Next Book
Insurgent, Veronica Roth, 2012
(I'm actually reading it as we speak (write) so no more lying!)
Next Book Actually On The List
59. Harriet the Spy, Louis Fitzhugh
No comments:
Post a Comment