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Chapters 11–13

Summary: 11. Bobo Brazil Meets the Sheik

The Watsons drive through the night. Everyone except Dad falls asleep. By the time they reach Alabama, it is morning and Dad is acting fairly strange from lack of sleep. In Birmingham, Kenny is relieved that the city is similar to Flint. There are houses instead of the log cabins that he was imagining. Kenny and Joey have never seen Grandma Sands, so they are quite excited to meet her.

The Watsons reach Grandma Sands house, and she comes out to meet them. Kenny describes her as a tiny, wrinkled version of his mother. She is the same height as Kenny. The family takes turns hugging her. When it is Byron’s turn to hug her, he is very polite. Kenny was expecting a great showdown between the two, like Godzilla and King Kong or the wrestlers Bobo Brazil and the Sheik. Kenny is disappointed that it appears Byron has given up without a fight. Grandma Sands mentions someone named Mr. Robert. When Momma asks who Mr. Robert is, Grandma Sands says that they will meet him soon.

Summary: 12. That Dog Won’t Hunt No More

Most of the Watsons have difficulty dealing with the heat of Birmingham. Kenny wakes up later than everyone else and joins Byron, Dad, and Mr. Robert outside. They are discussing Mr. Robert’s dog, who is too old to hunt. Mr. Robert tells a story about saving the dog from a raccoon that was trying to drown it. 

Kenny heads back into the house to eat. Momma and Grandma Sands are gossiping about the people in town. They also discuss problems with some of the white people. Kenny says that Grandma Sands’s laugh is like the Wicked Witch of the West’s laugh from Wizard of Oz. Eventually Momma asks about Mr. Robert and Grandma Sands’s relationship with him. Grandma Sands tells her that they are close friends and tells Momma, “Your daddy’s been gone for almost twenty years.” Kenny is surprised by how little Grandma Sands has to say to make his mother look like a small child who just got yelled at. 

Mr. Robert, Byron, and Dad come in and they talk about going to the lake to find good fishing spots. Kenny is not looking forward to fishing the next day and he points out that Byron seems to be enjoying his time in Alabama so far.

Summary: 13. I Meet Winnie’s Evil Twin Brother, the Wool Pooh

Kenny, Byron, and Joey go to the lake to swim. Grandma Sands warns them not to go to Collier’s Landing, because children have died there, caught in a whirlpool. Due to Grandma Sands accent, Kenny thinks that she said a “Wool Pooh.” When the three kids reach the lake, there is a sign that points to public swimming and a sign with a warning that points in the opposite direction. Kenny says that they should go to Collier’s Landing, but Byron and Joey go the other way. Byron tells Kenny that the Wool Pooh is going to pull him under if he goes by himself.

Kenny follows the warning sign and wonders why Byron is not trying to have another adventure and why he is following rules. He finds another warning sign that says that six kids have died there. Kenny wades out into the water, trying to catch a fish. He then tries to catch a turtle, but he reaches a drop-off and can no longer stand. He tries to swim back to shore but is unable. He looks underwater and sees a gray figure grab his ankle and start dragging him away. He is unable to free himself and is dragged over to Byron and Joey. He thinks he sees Byron fight the gray figure, and then Byron drags Kenny to shore. Kenny throws up and coughs up water. Byron is visibly upset, holding Kenny close. Kenny is confused about why Byron is crying.

Analysis: Chapters 11–13

This section of the novel explores the power dynamics in familial relationships. Even though the Watsons haven’t seen Grandma Sands in ten years, the family embraces her immediately, indicating the bond between them is strong. Kenny’s expectation of a showdown between Byron and Grandma Sands is a reminder of his limited perspective as a narrator. From ten-year-old Kenny’s point of view, it seems as though Byron has given up without a fight, but this interaction is actually a clear example of Byron’s affection and respect for his grandmother. The trip to Birmingham is already having a profound effect on Byron, which is exactly what his parents had hoped for. For the first time in the book, it is clear that Byron is more mature than Kenny. Kenny’s observation of Grandma Sands chiding Momma presents Kenny with a dynamic that he’d never considered before: that Grandma Sands has the same effect on Momma that Momma has on Kenny and his siblings. In the scene at Collier’s Landing, the fact that Kenny hallucinates an angel that looks like Joey, and Byron’s visceral reaction to his younger brother’s near-death while under his care, are significant. Both details exemplify the love of family as a life-sustaining force in the novel. 

This section of the novel deals with the theme of life and death through the lens of Kenny’s limited maturity and the use of dramatic irony. Mr. Roberts’ story about saving his loyal dog from a raccoon’s drowning attempt foreshadows Kenny’s near-drowning experience. Kenny’s mishearing of “whirlpool” as “Wool Pooh” and his subsequent dismissal of the dangers it could present increase the dramatic irony and set an ominous tone. It is clear that Kenny is in danger, though he does not recognize it himself. Kenny is at a crossroads in his growth at this point in the novel, not quite naïve enough to believe Byron’s story that the “Wool Pooh” is Winnie the Pooh’s malevolent twin brother, but not quite wise enough to understand the story is meant to protect him from attempting to swim near the whirlpool. Kenny’s childish understanding of the danger his life is in is exemplified by his imaginative interpretation of the drowning experience. As he is pulled under the water, he personifies the whirlpool into the Wool Pooh, an actual monster that is attempting to kill him. He thinks about how when a character in a cartoon is pulled under water three times, they never return to the surface and he calls out in terror for his mother. Afterwards, Kenny is still too immature to completely understand that he has narrowly escaped death, ironically interpreting Byron’s sobs over his safety as childishness.

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