The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Curtis

This historical fiction book set in the 1960s takes the reader from a hilarious narrative of nonstop mischief with Byron, Kenny's older brother to their close call with tragedy in the horror of the church bombing in Alabama. Kenny, the bookworm narrates the story throughout the book. His older brother Byron gets in so much trouble his parents resort to sending him off to spend a summer with Grandma in Alabama. At first the reader laughs at the one-of-a-kind pranks that keep Byron ticking and his little brother packing away the memories. Byron inceasantly teases his younger brother, but Kenny copes and watches his brother challenge the rules of society. Byron makes burning toilet paper parachutes in the bathroom . Kenny and his little sister Joetta cringe as their mother gets ready to burn Byron's finger to teach him a lesson. Byron deals with the bully who painted his brother's lost gloves with black shoe polish. He appears in front of his mother with an Afro resulting in a shaved head as punishment. Kenny portrays Byron as a fool, and between the lines the reader can almost witness him gloating as Kenny's parents finally resort to planning to drive Byron to Alabama to endure some Grandma remedy. The book takes a sudden turn in mood when the family arrives in Alabama. Kenny ventures into a forbidden water hole and almost drowns after he has a vision that will later push him to become a hero for his little sister. Byron's character changes as he becomes a helpful older brother to Kenny. The climax occurs when the family is startled with a huge blast that turns out to be the bombing of a church where Joetta was attending church school. When Kenny fears Joetta missing and finds a black shoe like the one she left the house in we see a new heroic side of Kenny appear. He shows a big brotherly side at the end of the book when he invites Joetta into his room with a new compassionate side to him. The family pulls together in the wake of the tragedy, and they vicariously suffer with the families who lost loved ones in the bombing.