<P> Events later in the story center on the historic 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, soon after the civil rights protests had gained negotiation with white city leaders for integration . KKK members bombed the church on September 15, 1963, killing four girls and injuring many more . In the novel, the incident is depicted as occurring a bit earlier than the historical date, allowing the Watson family to still be on summer vacation in Birmingham when it took place . </P> <P> The bombing was a catalyst for increased activity in the Civil Rights Movement and work on voter registration in Mississippi, during Freedom Summer of 1964 . </P> <P> The novel is a first - person account narrarated by Kenny Watson, who lives in Flint, Michigan with his parents, Daniel and Wilona Watson, his older brother Byron, and younger sister Joetta . The opening chapters establish Kenny as a very bright and shy 4th grader who has difficulty making true friends until Rufus Fry arrives in town from Arkansas . Rufus is also bullied by the students at Clark Elementary for his "country" clothes and accent, making Kenny reluctant to befriend him at first, but they are soon inseparable . Kenny is alternatively bullied and protected by his 13 year old brother Byron, whom he calls "an official teenage juvenile delinquent". Byron has been retained twice because he often skips school and is still in 6th grade . He invents a series of "fantastic adventures" which constantly get him into trouble and include playing with matches in the house, abusing his parent's credit at the corner grocery store to buy himself treats, and getting a "conk" hairstyle against his parents' orders . </P> <P> Daniel and Wilona eventually become so frustrated with their inability to "straighten out" Byron that they decide to send him to Birmingham, Alabama to live with Grandma Sands (Wilona's mother) for at least the summer and possibly an entire year . As soon as the school year concludes, the Watsons ready their car ("the Brown Bomber") and embark on a roadtrip from Flint to Birmingham to deliver Byron . Kenny had been looking forward to the "battle royal" between his grandma and Byron, but is disappointed when just a few sharp words from the "old, old" lady have Byron speaking respectfully and generally behaving himself, causing Kenny to seek out his own "adventures". Grandma Sands had warned the children to avoid a particular local swimming hole because of a dangerous "whirlpool", which Kenny misheard as "Wool Pooh" due to her thick Alabama accent . Kenny wants to swim there anyway, and is frustrated when Byron and Joetta refuse to go along . Ignoring the warnings of both Grandma Sands and Byron, Kenny jumps into the seemingly tranquil pool and edges deeper and deeper water until he loses his footing and almost drowns . Remembering his grandmother's words, he imagines that a strange monster he thinks is the mysterious "Wool Pooh" swam up from below to grab his ankle and pull him under . Byron returns and jumps in to save Kenny just in time . He later insists that there was nothing else in the water, but Kenny is convinced that the Wool Pooh actually exists . </P>

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