To all you Civil Rights supporters, this sure seems like the book for you! The book I chose to read is a novel by Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963. Without reading even a single word, there's so much I can already infer. First off, we see that the pictures shown on the cover are a pretty obvious give away that this book deals with an african american family. A beautiful little girl is shown laughing in one photo, two boys are smiling together in another, and a clear shot of who are most likely the father and mother can be seen. Of course I can also get a feel of what the setting is going to be by several things. The title in itself tells that it is 1963, and that particular 'olden time' vibe is given off by the superannuated car shown in the background of the cover. The color of the book as a whole conveys a lot as well, it's got that aged shade of brownish tan and the font of the title reminds me of a heading in old newspapers.
Based off the back of the book, it tells of a 4th grader named Kenny Watson and his "beautiful" life in Michigan. This life style changes when he and his family venture down South into "ugliness and violence". Right here, it made me think of multiple paths that the story could take. The first thought that entered my mind was of a sophisticated african boy that was used to living the simple, easy life and then faces an array of new circumstances in the South that he has never been exposed to. Another scenario was that Kenny would see the hardships that some people of his same skin color go through, and is inspired to become someone like Martin Luther King Jr. Not knowing for sure what this time era exactly held, I typed in "birmingham alabama 1963" into google and youtube. Instantly it was clear what this era held, summed in key words; segregation, civil rights, equality, brutality, and MLK.
Here- A video of one of the searches that came up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1AepPbYwP4&feature=related
A certain quote within the front cover of the book really stuck with me, "Birmingham, Alabama, toward one of the darkest moments in America's history." This really hit home at how severe the situations in the book may turn out to be, and has kindled a great interest to find out within me. What'll happen next?...
Reading Schedule
1st: 1-63 (1-4)
2nd: 64-99 (5-7)
3rd: 100-161 (8-11)
4th: 162-210 (12-Epilogue)
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