C. P. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963. NY: Delacorte.
As dysfunctional as the Watsons seem to be, they are probably as normal as they come. Right? We have the black sheep, Byron, or as Kenny describes him, the juvenile delinquent, we have the normal kid, Kenny, who gets picked on but is a good boy, Joey, the adorable little girl who is too cute to resist, and of course the parents, the typical momma, and the light humored dad. While Byron is always getting in trouble, the parents try to set him staight and perhaps finally accomplish the task when they visit Grandma. A series of events take place that seem to be changing Byron for the better and leave Kenny feeling trouble and somehow traumatized. The connection made to the bombing in Birmingham adds a serious touch to the nature of the novel. The events lead the boys to display the love and care they have for each other and are able to continue living a "normal" life...
Easy read and with a little of everything, there's a thumbs up for The Watsons Go to Birmingham. I have taught "The Ballad of Birmingham" in my eleventh grade class, I feel that I can use excerpts from this novel to make connections and perhaps pair up the units to produce open ended questions in preparation for STAAR.
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