In Chapters One through Three of The Watsons Go to Birmingham, we've got quite a lot going on. We're introduced to several characters, including the Watson family. Interspersed with that is a good bit of humor.
I'm enjoying The Watsons Go to Birmingham. I have to admit that I laughed myself silly for the scene where Byron is kissing his reflection and gets his lips stuck to the mirror of the car. I suspect the daddy was right about what led to the situation. Hilarious! Before we get to that point, though, we meet each of the family - Mama and Daddy Watson, Byron, Kenny and Joey. The central protagonist is Kenny, though we learn a bit about the other characters from how they interact with him.
Byron is a bit of a bully. Kenny, on the other hand, is (mostly) a sweet little boy. His biggest problems are that he has a lazy eye which he's very self-conscious about and the fact that he's a superb reader. Apparently, the second issue wouldn't be such a big deal aside from the fact that his teacher takes him from class to class to show him off to the other students as a "good example". In reality, this just paints a target on him for bullies.
Finally, Kenny finds a friend, Rufus. I have to say, I like Rufus quite a lot. As a country girl I could definitely identify with him. Kenny almost blows it by laughing when some kids pick on Rufus' little brother, but after his mom steps in he's able to patch things up and gets his friend back. It's a good lesson for Kenny, though, I think.
At this point, it's unclear whether or not the story carried on in a straight fashion time-wise, but I get the sense that after the Watsons head for the Aunt's house, we're seeing a flash-back, or a more in-depth look at the characters. I think at some point, the author will bring us back to them going to a warm house and carry on from there.
I stopped when I finished Chapter 3. I wanted to keep going, but at the same time I have several reading projects going on, so I figured if I finished reading it I'd forget half of what I wanted to say by the time we were ready to discuss it :-) I'm definitely looking forward to picking it back up, though!
Oh, gosh. I almost forgot to mention - I'm Anne Victory. My Google user-name is Arkali, though. Hope it doesn't cause too much confusion!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get your name?
ReplyDeleteThe "Victory" came from hubby :) But I'm guessing you mean "Arkali". I used to role-play when I was younger and it was just a name I picked for a character. Over the years, I just kept using it for various message boards, blogs, etc.
ReplyDeleteHAHA! I enjoyed how you commented on Rufus! I thought the exact same thing when the author brought him into the story. I am a country girl too, and he definetly seems like someone i would want to surrond myself around! Just a pure, laid back guy!
ReplyDelete“The Watson’s Go to Birmingham”
ReplyDeleteChapter 1-3
In Chapters 1-3 "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" showed the various characters of the Watson family. We were shown the behavior of the parents and their history. We were introduced to mother and father, and their relocation to Flint, MI from Birmingham, AL. The adjustment to the weather was something that the mother disliked, but tolerated. The children knew their roles for dealing with the weather, Byron and Kenny had chores to do such as scraping the ice off the car. Joey was a little girl so this did not apply to her (yet). Byron enjoyed being a bully to his younger brother and on the day of going to Aunt Cydney Byron and Buphead (his friend) decided to play a trick on Kenny. Well Kenny completed his job and any pranks the older boys put on him, but then Byron gets his lips stuck on the car, this was hilarious. But this is all the fun of being in a family.
Kenny was a great student and his teachers showed him how proud they were of his efforts. This idea seemed to be ok, he had to deal with the thought that his older brother, Byron was not so smart. By having Kenny going from class to class reading to show other students that reading was important, and he was in the second grade was very impressive. But to Kenny's dismay he was sent to read to Byron's fifth grade class, and this made him nervous. He knew how his brother normally reacted to various situations, but he fortunately did not tease Kenny too bad this time. Byron and his friend Buphead enjoyed playing tricks on Kenny and calling him names. One name in particular was "Poindexter". So whenever Byron and Buphead were going to skip school they would tell Kenny, " Give my regards to Clark, (the name of their school) Poindexter.
Finally, some new students arrived at the school and they were from Arkansas. This starts to change to atmosphere of the story the boys will now meet some other students who are not like them in many ways. Kenny had never really been around anyone from the south. His observation of Rufus and Cody was different. He noticed that they spoke with a slower accent, they smiled a lot, and spoke to people and also the way they dressed. With the new students being at school this would take any negative attention off of him and it did for a while. Kenny realized that he enjoyed Rufus and Cody and wanted to keep them for friends. Some people treated them mean, and teased them. Kenny learned the hard way that being a friend comes with a price, you don't just treat them any kind of way. After learning this valuable lesson he valued their friendship with the help of his Momma.
This is a very interesting story and I am enjoying to Watson family. There are many comparisons that create cultural changes. The children in the story show how it is to adapt to new environments being the one who has moved to town and the one who has to make friends. What a learning experience.
sonja schaffer
Right from the start, this book kept my interest. It introduced each family member in away that made them similar to people in my own family. I also enjoyed when Rufus is introduced in the story. Even though I am from the bayou and not the country, our life styles are very much alike. We are very laid back people and I can understand that in Rufus.
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