The main theme of the book is race. Students should be able to speak about how racial issues impact each Watson child and how their views are shifted by the bombing. The similarities and differences between Flint and Birmingham are crucial, and students should be able to account for why. Further, teachers should note how adults deal with race, specifically the way they speak with their children about what to expect in the South and how effective their advice is.
In Flint, Byron is a delinquent and Kenny is the good boy, but this seems to reverse itself upon arrival in Birmingham. Teachers should have students explore how the seeds for this change were planted by incidents in Flint, when Kenny reads in front of the class, for example, and how and why the behavior of one influences the other. In Birmingham, teachers can explore how Byron saving Kenny from drowning changes their relationship and how this relates to Byron's role in comforting Kenny following the bombing.
Curtis considered the book being set in 1963 so important, he included it in the title. Teachers should use it as a springboard for learning about 1963 America. Look at the mood of the country in general and specifically the circumstances in the South that bred such an act of terror. Teachers should stress the importance of the Birmingham bombing in motivating the upsurge of support for the Civil Rights movement in its wake, including the March on Washington with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Through good times and bad, the Watsons are a family, and the importance of this cannot be understated. The trip to Birmingham was motivated by Dad's desire to strengthen Byron's character, and in the end the whole family is strengthened by the experience there. Teachers should explore how and why Kenny's life and relationship with his family, especially Byron, changes by the end. Also discuss with students the role of family in good times and bad and what significance the lighter stories in the first half have in the reader's understanding of the second.