The Watsons go to Birmingham- 1963
Christopher Paul Curtis
Lexile: 1000 Reading Counts Points: 12
Kenny Watson
Kenny is a young black boy living in Flint, Michigan along with his parents, his big brother, Byron, and his younger sister, Joetta. Kenny is often teased by his brother and his brother's best friend, Buphead. He is very gulible and often falls for Byron's tricks and believes his lies.
Symbol #1: Bullying
Kenny is often teased and bullied by his brother and his friend, Buphead. He quietly put up with it and didn't retaliate, but he should have stood up for himself and told the bullies not to pick on him.
Symbol #2: Kindness
Even though he is bullied by his brother, Byron, Kenny didn't turn into a bully himself. He constantly forgave Byron for what he did to hurt Kenny and didn't seek revenge on Byron. He is an all-around kind person and not at all a "juvenile delinquent" like his brother and Buphead.
Symbol #3: Caring
Kenny looks out for his little sister, Joetta, and deeply cares for her. When Joetta was almost killed in a bombing, Kenny seemed to be the most worried about her.
Quote from book
"I could have done a lot of stuff to him. If it had been me with my lips stuck on something like this he'd have tortured me for a couple days before he got help. Not me, though, I nearly broke my neck trying to get into the house to rescue Byron." -Page #13
Flint, Michigan
Kenny and his family live in Flint, Michigan, and it is extremely cold there; Kenny's mom calls it a giant ice box. Kenny's family huddles together to keep warm. It becomes so cold in their house that they stay the night at their aunt's house, which is heated.
Fancy house
This image represents the Watson's aunt's house. She is extremely rich, and her house is lavishly decorated. She is not a very nice person, and the Watson's only visit her because her house is heated.
Birmingham, Alabama
Because of Byron's rebellious behavior, the Watson family drives down to where Kenny's mom grew up: Birmingham, Alabama. They plan to leave Byron there to stay with his grandmother for the summer.
Character Pillar:
Kenny shows the character pillar of compassion. He cares for both his brother and sister, and he tries his hardest to help them in any way, even though he knows that they may not help him back. Kenny's brother is very mean to him, constantly tricking and teasing him, but Kenny constantly shows him compassion.
By: Kylie Johnson
Hour: 4
October 2015