# The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

**Author:** Christopher Paul Curtis
**Lexile:** 1000L
**Grade range:** Grades 5–8
**Age range:** 10–14
**First published:** 1995
**Page count:** 224
**Genre:** Historical Fiction
**ISBN-13:** `9780440414124`
**ISBN-10:** `0440414121`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/the-watsons-go-to-birmingham-1963
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

The Watson family — Dad, Momma, Byron, Kenny, and Joetta — pack up the Brown Bomber and drive from Flint, Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama, where they witness the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. A Newbery Honor book and a cornerstone of 5th-8th grade civil rights units across the United States.

## Themes

- civil rights
- family
- racism
- history
- coming of age

## Content notes

- racial violence
- historical bombing

Common Sense Media age recommendation: 10+

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