The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

A wonderful middle-grade novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up.

"An exceptional first novel."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred, Boxed Review

"Superb . . . a warmly memorable evocation of an African American family." —The Horn Book Magazine, Starred

"Marvelous . . . both comic and deeply moving."
—The New York Times Book Review

"Ribald humor . . . and a totally believable child's view of the world will make this book an instant hit."—School Library Journal, Starred