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The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

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The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

by Christopher Paul Curtis

Narrator LeVar Burton

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Length 4 hours 54 minutes

Language English

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Summary
About the author

During one of the most important times in the civil rights movement, one unforgettable family goes on a road trip in this Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree, from author Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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.

"A modern classic." —NPR

“Marvelous . . . both comic and deeply moving.” —The New York Times

"One of the best novels EVER." —Jacqueline Woodson, Newbery Honor and National Book Award–winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming

Children's

CHRISTOPHER PAUL CURTIS won the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award for his bestselling second novel, Bud, Not Buddy. His first novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, was also singled out for many awards, among them a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor, and has been made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. He is also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Christopher Paul Curtis grew up in Flint, Michigan. After high school he began working on the assembly line at the Fisher Body Plant No. 1 while attending the Flint branch of the University of Michigan. He is now a full-time writer. He lives with his family in Windsor, Ontario.

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Audiobook details

Author:
Christopher Paul Curtis

Narrator:
LeVar Burton

ISBN:
9780553750577

Length:
4 hours 54 minutes

Language:
English

Publisher:
Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group

Publication date:
July 5, 2000

Edition:
Unabridged

Libro.fm rank:
#15,419 Overall

Genre rank:
#2,545 in Children's

Reviews

AN ALA TOP TEN BEST BOOK
AN ALA NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK
AN IRA YOUNG ADULT'S CHOICE
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW BEST BOOK
NAMED TO MULTIPLE STATE AWARD LISTS

"This is a book that changes lives. It certainly changed mine." --Kate DiCamillo, two-time Newbery Medalist

"I identify with so much in Christopher Paul Curtis's engrossing classic, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963." --David Barclay Moore, winner of the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent

"An exceptional first novel."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

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

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