Birmingham, 1963 by Carole Boston Weatherford

1. Bibliography
Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2007. BIRMINGHAM, 1963. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong. ISBN: 1590784405.

2. Plot Summary
This book is a recount of the events that take place on a young girl's tenth birthday, which happens to take place on September 15, 1963, the day that the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed by racist terrorists. This resulted in the deaths of four young girls and many being injured. The ten-year-old girl, who is the book's narrator, describes how the day started out as a normal Sunday morning with church rituals and festivities going as planned. Then, as an explosion takes place in the church, fear and panic arise the church and the tone of the book is automatically changed from being spiritual and hopeful to fearful and dreadful.

3. Critical Analysis
It is clear from the tone and language that Weatherford was using in this book that she was trying to not only trying to paint a picture of the history of the Civil Rights Movement and a particular landmark event that happened during this movement, but she was clearly trying to evoke emotion out of the reader. She encourages feelings of pride as she illustrates the young girl's narration of her participation in sit-ins and her attendance at Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. alongside her parents. She encourages joy and happiness in the young narrator's tone as she describes how her day began at church: her pride in her "patent-leather cha-cha heels," her excitement about performing This Little Light of Mine as her youth solo, and attending Sunday school. She also encourages emotions of sadness and heartbreak after the church is bombed and the four older girls that she saw going to the restroom (who she was hoping would invite her along the way) were killed in the explosion. This is evident in the young girl's quote: "The day I turned ten, there was no birthday cake with candles; just cinders, ash, and a wish I were still nine."

Weatherford's use of symbolism in this book is also to be noted. For example, there is a vivid description in the book about how the face of Jesus Christ is blown out of a stained-glass window. This clearly shows the irony of how Jesus Christ, who is seen to be a figure of peace and hope to many, especially in the Baptist church, seemingly would not have been visible in the wake of such a hateful and heinous attack.

Overall, I think that Weatherford successfully captured all of the most important elements of good children's poetry in this book: irony, evoking emotion, and imagery.

4. Review Excerpts
Kirkus Reviews-"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."
School Library Journal- "An emotional read...intimate and powerful."
Library Media Connection- "This is a book that should be in every library collection."

5. Connections
Due to its reference to an important event in American history, the target audience for this book was most likely be those children aged 9 and up (4th grade and up). This book would be a great source to use in lieu of teaching children about African-American history, as well as looking for typical aspects of poetry (imagery, irony, emotions, etc.). There are many aspects in this book that will allow students to make personal connections with the story being told. These aspects should be used to encourage children to express these connections in writing.
Other great books by Carole Boston Weatherford:

• Weatherford, Carole Boston. REMEMBER THE BRIDGE: POEMS OF A PEOPLE. ISBN 0399237.
• Weatherford, Carole Boston. STORMY BLUES. ISBN 1883275113.