Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree about an unforgettable family on a road-trip during one of the most important times in the civil rights movement.
When the Watson family—ten-year-old Kenny, Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron—sets out on a trip south to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama, they don’t realize that they’re heading toward one of the darkest moments in America’s history. The Watsons’ journey reminds us that even in the hardest times, laughter and family can help us get through anything.
The Sexy Nerd's Review...
I finished Black History Month with a really enjoyable book. I laughed so hard I couldn’t seem to control myself. So much of this story resonated with me because having grown up with a sibling and all the crazy situations kids find themselves in just made for a wholesome good vibe feeling.
The Weird Watsons, as our narrator, Kenneth Bernard Watson, described his family living in Flint, Michigan during one of the coldest winters he could remember. Kenny’s mother, Wilona, was from Birmingham, Alabama and never could adjust to the cold winters up north. Kenny’s siblings, Byron, his eldest brother, and Joetta better known as “Joey,” his baby sister were growing restless and tired of being so cold to the point they could see their breath while in the house, was ready for a change.
Byron was a typical mischievous teen always getting into trouble and bullying the younger kids, especially his brother, Kenny. What made Kenny so pickable from By and the other older kids was the fact he had two things going for him. One, he was super smart which was a terrible offense to kids, and two, he had what they called a lazy eye. You factor those two things together and Kenny had a rough way to go. Even though that was Kenny’s plight, sometimes the bigger kids took pity on him because of the fact Byron was bigger and Kenny’s brother and he could fight and make the younger kids suffer.
Byron had one major issue that gave pause to his parents. Daniel, their father, didn’t like the direction in which his eldest son was going. The final straw broke the camel’s back when Daniel came home to find that his son had processed his natural hair and that threw his father other the edge. If that wasn’t bad enough, what concerned Wilona about her eldest son was the fact he loved playing with fire. This was a problem she wanted handled right away. So, Daniel and Wilona did what most parents in the sixties would do. They decided to send Byron down to Alabama to live with his grandmother and show him some tough love from the dirty South. Oooh, Byron was not feeling that at all. It didn’t matter because the Watsons were packing up and driving down to see Grandma Sands, Wilona’s mother, in Birmingham. And this story takes off.
I absolutely fell in love with all these characters. Kenny was so thoughtful and downright hilarious with the way he told this story. From the dialect they used back in the sixties to the dumb stuff he and his siblings would do was just priceless. There were so many sections of the book I had to stop because I could not control my laughter. Kenny was a fool, but in a clever way. The lessons that he and his family came away with for having driven all those miles to go down South was amazing. This story displayed the love they had for one another and the sacrifices each of them made to make their family stronger.
The Sexy Nerd gives The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 five extra bucks for gas on their funny drive down South. I see why Curtis won an award for this story. It feels real and is so entertaining. Anyone reading this will come away feeling thrilled to have met the Watsons. They will definitely leave you in a great frame of mind. Until next time, Nerds, you know what to do.
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