Historical Fiction
5th Grade
This story is about a family living in Flint, Michigan that has been spared by the racial acts being committed towards African Americans in the south. This story is told by the middle child Kenny, a boy that is becoming a teenager and is facing things he has never experienced in life. The Watson family consist of a mom, dad, two sons, and one young daughter. The book begins by describing the characters and telling funny family stories. When the family begins having problems with the oldest son and his attitude, they decide to take him to live with his grandmother in Birmingham. As the whole family travels from Michigan to Birmingham they begin to face what other African Americans are going through in the south. When they finally reach Birmingham they are faced with a terrible scare. A church that the youngest daughter is visiting for Sunday school is blown up and the family realizes that more than likely their youngest daughter is dead. Luckily, the daughter was not inside the church. Kenny suffers from this tragedy still. He is now faced with reality of what his race is going through.
I will use this book as a connection between language arts and social studies. As part of the unit where we discuss the Civil Rights Movement, I will have students participate in Book Clubs with every chapter to hear a side of this historical event from someone other than the typical storytellers of this time.
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