The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 Quotes

“There's one good thing about getting in trouble: It seems like you do it in steps. It seems like you don't just end up in trouble but that you kind of ease yourself into it. It also seems like the worse the trouble is that you get into, the more steps it takes to get there. Sort of like you're getting a bunch of little warnings on the way; sort of like if you really wanted to you could turn around.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

“Byron says he won't go there. He give Kenny and Joey a story about "Wool Pooh," the supposed evil twin of Winnie-the-Pooh. They believe him, but Kenny still wants to go.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

“Having a little pee in your pants had to be better than being dinner for some redneck.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

“Wow. Who would want a fish for a pet when they could have a turtle?!”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

“Now, your mother and I made a deal when we first got married that if either one of us ever watched the 'wunnerful, wunnerful' Lawrence Welk Show or listened to country music the other one got to get a free divorce.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

“But I was kind of surprised that God would send a saver to me in such raggedy clothes.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“Every once in a while, Momma would make me go to Sunday school with Joey. Even though it was just a bunch of singing and coloring in coloring books and listening to Mrs. Davidson, I had learned one thing. I learned about getting saved. I learned how someone could come to you when you were feeling real, real bad and could take all of your problems away and make you feel better. I learned that the person who saved you, your personal saver, was sent by God to protect you and to help you out.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“cereal and went out into the”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“There was going to be a battle something like if Godzilla met King Kong, or if Frankenstein met Dracula, or like when champion wrestler Bobo Brazil meets the Sheik!”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“It’s times like this when someone is talking to you like you are a grown-up that you have to be careful not to pick your nose or dig your drawers out of your butt.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“My dinosaurs weren’t even in their graves for three hours before someone rolled their rocks away. Maybe it was a lot easier for a bunch of angels to get a million dinosaurs to heaven than it was to get the saver of the whole world there, but I wished they’d given me a couple more hours.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“Dad was in the United Auto Workers at work so seniority was real important in our house.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“It’s 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Times are hard. Ten-year-old Bud is a motherless boy on the run, and his momma never told him who his father was. But she left a clue: posters of Herman”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“(Anika Noni Rose),”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“Huh?” Byron said.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“to pick your nose or dig your drawers out of your butt.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“Nazi Parachutes Attack America and Get Shot Down over the Flint River by Captain Byron Watson and His Flamethrower of Death”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“When Rufus and Cody got off they said, “Hi, Mrs. Watson,” and gave her their big smiles.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“on”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“thought I told your jive little…’ ” I froze. I looked up. Their eyes were still locked on me. I looked at the teacher, who shrugged and gave me an “Oh, well” smirk. I went back to the book: yup, there it was, the rare three-lettered word that starts with a. My lips opened and shut soundlessly. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t read the word aloud to these fifth graders. My eyes went to Miss Bookworm, who had sprung the trap. “It’s okay,” she encouraged me. “Go ahead and read it. We already know what the word is.” My thought process in situations like this is similar to the way I used to play basketball—eventually effective but painfully slow and plodding. It seemed I stood in front of that class for hours, trying to figure what to do. I thought back to the many times when I’d take questions after a talk and some child would ask, “Why did you use swear words in this book?”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“answer”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“kill”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“another finger sign I’d never seen before”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“you had that…that…problem with Mary Ann”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“Come on, Daddy, turn it on, stop teasing!”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“new used tires,”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“Every Chihuahua in America Lines Up to Take a Bite out of Byron”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“Daddy Cool.”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“Daddy Cool, though,”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

“should be shot”
― Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963