Watsons Go to Birmingham Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Why did Grandma Sands warn Joey, Byron, and Kenny to stay away from Collier’s Landing?

• a. She was afraid that they would have too much fun and not want to come back home.

• b. She was afraid that they would drown.

• c. She was afraid that they would get lost finding it.

Chapter 13

“Maybe it was the heat, maybe…it had sucked all the meanness and fun out of Byron.”

What kind of figurative language is this and why?

• a. This is an onomatopoeia because the narrator is describing the sound of heat.

• b. This is a simile because Byron’s mean and fun qualities are being compared.

• c. This is personification because the heat is given human characteristics to take away the mean and fun qualities from Byron.

Chapter 13

“The water was dark, dark, blue, and best of all, it was about a hundred degrees cooler.”

What kind of figurative language is this and why?

• a. This is a hyperbole because the narrator exaggerates the temperature of the water.

• b. This is personification because Kenny gives the water human characteristics to be cool like a person.

• c. This is a simile because the narrator is comparing the water to the color blue.

Chapter 13

Why do you infer Byron was crying like a kindergarten baby?

• a. Byron injured himself while he saved Kenny from drowning.

• b. Byron thought his brother was going to die.

• c. Byron was mocking and making fun of Kenny for almost drowning.

Chapter 14

Why did Kenny feel so tired?

• a. He had done a lot of swimming at the lake a few days before.

• b. He was being lazy so he wouldn’t have to go to Sunday school.

• c. Drowning in a whirlpool drained all of his energy.

Chapter 14

Why did everything seem to get really quiet for Kenny for two seconds?

• a. Kenny fell in a deep sleep.

• b. The sound of an approaching thunderstorm sounded one long time.

• c. Kenny’s ears were waterlogged (full of water) and couldn’t hear anything.

Chapter 14

“…Momma’s scream made me jump nearly to the magnolia’s top branch.” What was Kenny expressing in this hyperbole?

• a. how his momma’s scream scared him so much that he jumped up

• b. how loud his mom commanded him to climb to the top of the magnolia tree

• c. how high he climbed the magnolia tree

Chapter 14

“…it looked like he’d been painting with red, red paint.” What can you conclude from this statement?

• a. The man is a painter.

• b. The children were painting in Sunday school.

• c. There are injured people in church.

Chapter 14

Why did Kenny think he had found Joetta’s shiny shoe?

• a. The shoe was Joetta’s favorite color.

• b. The shoe contained a picture of a little white boy with a girl’s hairdo and a dog,

• c. The shoe had Joetta’s name on the inside of the shoe.

Chapter 14

“What are all them sirens doing? Lord, has the whole world gone mad today?” Based on this dialogue, what can you infer about Grandma Sands?

• a. Grandma Sands hates sirens.

• b. Grandma Sands has no idea what is going on.

• c. Grandma Sands is very religious.