In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama was one of the most segregated cities in the United States. Civil rights demonstrators were met with police dogs and water cannons. The eyes of the world were on Birmingham, a flashpoint for the civil rights movement. On Sunday, September 15, 1963, members of the Ku Klux Klan planted nineteen sticks of dynamite under the back steps of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, which served as a meeting place for civil rights organizers. The explosion claimed the lives of four little girls. Their murders shocked the nation and turned the tide in the struggle for equality. Here is a book that captures the heartbreak of that tragic day, as seen through the eyes of a fictional witness to the bombing. Pairing archival photographs with poignant text written in free verse, Carole Boston Weatherford offers a powerful tribute to the young victims.
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* "Exquisitely understated design lends visual potency to a searing poetic evocation of the Birmingham church bombing of 1963. The unnamed fictional narrator relates the events of ''[t]he year I turned ten,'' this refrain introducing such domestic commonplaces as her first sip of coffee and ''doz[ing] on Mama's shoulder'' at church...It's a gorgeous memorial to the four killed on that horrible day, and to the thousands of children who braved violence to help change the world." --Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
* "... Each page is filled with emotion as the reader shares with the narrator the horrors of hatred. This is a testament to the four young girls whose deaths brought about positive changes to a city that was racially divided. This is a reminder of a time when ordinary people became involved in extraordinary situations in the cause of freedom. This is a book that should be in every library collection." --Library Media Connection, Starred Review
* "In understated free verse, an unnamed, fictional girl narrates the events that preceded the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. She relates how she marched with other children to protest white-only lunch counters, went to the Lincoln Memorial to hear King's ''I Have a Dream'' speech, and was present at the church when ''Someone tucked a bundle of dynamite/Under the church steps, then lit the fuse of hate.'' The format of the book is small, and it makes the reading experience of an enormously tragic event an intimate experience. The poetic text appears on light-gray pages with photos of childhood objects, like shoes, barrettes, or birthday candles. The fateful Sunday is the narrator's birthday; she states, ''The day I turned ten,/There was no birthday cake with candles;/Just cinders, ash, and a wish I were still nine.'' Opposite are full-page archival black-and-white photographs (which are cited in the back matter). The color palette is white, gray, and black, with enigmatic red design elements that appear on the pages of print. The book includes a section called ''in memoriam'' in which the four young girls who died in the bombing are profiled. The author's note provides additional historical background, and the end matter includes a list of photo citations. An emotional read, made even more accessible and powerful by the viewpoint of the child narrator." --School Library Journal, Starred Review
In free verse, a fictional 10-year-old tells of actual events leading up to the Ku Klux Klan bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963, and of the four young girls who died in the explosion. On each double-page spread, a few lines of spare poetry ("Someone tucked a bundle of dynamite / Under the church steps, then lit the fuse of hate") are placed opposite a stirring, unframed archival photograph. Together, the words and pictures show the horrific racism, the sit-ins and marches, and the church's role. Finally, a brief personal profile of each of the four girls who died appears on a separate spread, accompanied by a photo of the child. A long note fills in the history, with references for further reading. There is no exploitation of the violence. The quiet yet arresting book design will inspire readers, who may want to go on to Christopher Paul Curtis' novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 (1995) and to histories about the role of children in the civil rights struggle. --Booklist
* Weatherford's words and archival photographs remind readers of one of our nation's tragedies-the 1963 bombing of Birmingham's Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in which four young girls were killed. The fictitious narrator recounts other events of the Civil Rights Movement. The bombing of the church and the deaths of innocent children shocked the country and proved to be a pivotal part of the call for equal rights. The author points out that 39 years would pass before the case would be closed and the perpetrators brought to justice. Teachers who use Christopher Paul Curtis's, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 (Delacorte Press, 1995) can use this book at the beginning of the unit to provide historical background or at the conclusion as a summary of events. Each page is filled with emotion as the reader shares with the narrator the horrors of hatred. This is a testament to the four young girls whose deaths brought about positive changes to a city that was racially divided. This is a reminder of a time when ordinary people became involved in extraordinary situations in the cause of freedom. This is a book that should be in every library collection. --Library Media Connection, Starred Review
* "... Each page is filled with emotion as the reader shares with the narrator the horrors of hatred. This is a testament to the four young girls whose deaths brought about positive changes to a city that was racially divided. This is a reminder of a time when ordinary people became involved in extraordinary situations in the cause of freedom. This is a book that should be in every library collection." --Library Media Connection, Starred Review
* "In understated free verse, an unnamed, fictional girl narrates the events that preceded the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. She relates how she marched with other children to protest white-only lunch counters, went to the Lincoln Memorial to hear King's ''I Have a Dream'' speech, and was present at the church when ''Someone tucked a bundle of dynamite/Under the church steps, then lit the fuse of hate.'' The format of the book is small, and it makes the reading experience of an enormously tragic event an intimate experience. The poetic text appears on light-gray pages with photos of childhood objects, like shoes, barrettes, or birthday candles. The fateful Sunday is the narrator's birthday; she states, ''The day I turned ten,/There was no birthday cake with candles;/Just cinders, ash, and a wish I were still nine.'' Opposite are full-page archival black-and-white photographs (which are cited in the back matter). The color palette is white, gray, and black, with enigmatic red design elements that appear on the pages of print. The book includes a section called ''in memoriam'' in which the four young girls who died in the bombing are profiled. The author's note provides additional historical background, and the end matter includes a list of photo citations. An emotional read, made even more accessible and powerful by the viewpoint of the child narrator." --School Library Journal, Starred Review
In free verse, a fictional 10-year-old tells of actual events leading up to the Ku Klux Klan bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963, and of the four young girls who died in the explosion. On each double-page spread, a few lines of spare poetry ("Someone tucked a bundle of dynamite / Under the church steps, then lit the fuse of hate") are placed opposite a stirring, unframed archival photograph. Together, the words and pictures show the horrific racism, the sit-ins and marches, and the church's role. Finally, a brief personal profile of each of the four girls who died appears on a separate spread, accompanied by a photo of the child. A long note fills in the history, with references for further reading. There is no exploitation of the violence. The quiet yet arresting book design will inspire readers, who may want to go on to Christopher Paul Curtis' novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 (1995) and to histories about the role of children in the civil rights struggle. --Booklist
* Weatherford's words and archival photographs remind readers of one of our nation's tragedies-the 1963 bombing of Birmingham's Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in which four young girls were killed. The fictitious narrator recounts other events of the Civil Rights Movement. The bombing of the church and the deaths of innocent children shocked the country and proved to be a pivotal part of the call for equal rights. The author points out that 39 years would pass before the case would be closed and the perpetrators brought to justice. Teachers who use Christopher Paul Curtis's, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 (Delacorte Press, 1995) can use this book at the beginning of the unit to provide historical background or at the conclusion as a summary of events. Each page is filled with emotion as the reader shares with the narrator the horrors of hatred. This is a testament to the four young girls whose deaths brought about positive changes to a city that was racially divided. This is a reminder of a time when ordinary people became involved in extraordinary situations in the cause of freedom. This is a book that should be in every library collection. --Library Media Connection, Starred Review
About the Author
Carole Boston Weatherford is an award-winning poet and author of over two dozen books for young readers. She lives in North Carolina.
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This review is from: Birmingham, 1963 (Hardcover)
One of my favorite books is THe Watson's Go to Birmingham -1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. This new book by Carole Weatherford is an excellent addition to a text set on the Civil Rights Movement. THrough the eyes of a 10-year old girl attending church on that fateful Sunday in September, Weatherford creates a tribute not only to the four little girls who died in the bombing, but to all those who worked for change despite the cruelty and horror of the times. Both books should be accompanied by Spike Lee's "Four Little Girls." Weatherford's book about the Greensboro sit-ins - Freedom on the Menu - adds another dimension to the story. I would start out the unit with The Story of Ruby Bridges and THrough My Eyes (by Ruby Bridges) - books that tell about the integration of New Orleans schools in 1960. All these books allow us to see the times through the eyes of children.
THe photos in Birmingham, 1963 help today's students get a sense of the times. THe four photos of the girls at the end accompanied by short poems about each helps today's children see how these girls were real children who played with their friends, participated in band and scouts and church and dreamed of their future.
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