The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

by

Christopher Paul Curtis

The Wool Pooh Character Analysis

The Wool Pooh is a make-believe character that Byron invents as a way of discouraging his younger siblings from swimming in a whirlpool in Birmingham. He comes up with the character when Joey can’t remember the word “whirlpool,” telling her and Kenny that the Wool Pooh is Winnie the Pooh’s evil twin brother who lives beneath the water and drags swimmers into the depths. Kenny thinks he sees the Wool Pooh when he gets swept up in the real whirlpool. He also thinks he sees the Wool Pooh when he goes inside the bombed-out church to look for Joey.
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The Wool Pooh Character Timeline in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

The timeline below shows where the character The Wool Pooh appears in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 13
Change, Coming of Age, and Maturity Theme Icon
Family, Friendship, and Support Theme Icon
...the word “whirlpool,” so Byron jumps in and says that Grandma Sands was talking about the Wool Pooh , whom he claims is Winnie the Pooh’s “evil twin brother.” According to Byron, the... (full context)
Change, Coming of Age, and Maturity Theme Icon
Family, Friendship, and Support Theme Icon
...starts in the other direction, but Kenny decides to prove that he’s not afraid of the Wool Pooh . He also doesn’t like how much his brother has changed. Byron always breaks the... (full context)
Change, Coming of Age, and Maturity Theme Icon
Kenny doesn’t know what to think about the Wool Pooh . He suspects it’s nonsense, but he’s unsure. He eventually comes across another sign warning... (full context)
Family, Friendship, and Support Theme Icon
...really scared and tries to swim back to land, but then he feels as if the Wool Pooh comes swimming up from the depths and grabs him by the leg. The Wool Pooh... (full context)
Chapter 14
Bullying and Injustice vs. Kindness and Compassion Theme Icon
Race and Class Theme Icon
...a shiny shoe that he tries to pick up—but it won’t budge. Suddenly, he thinks the Wool Pooh is holding onto it with big gray fingers. (full context)
Family, Friendship, and Support Theme Icon
...rip in the heel that Kenny thinks developed when he was wrestling it out of the Wool Pooh ’s grasp. He thinks about Joey, wishing he’d told her that she helped Byron save... (full context)
Family, Friendship, and Support Theme Icon
...different clothes when she ran away from the church with him. Finally, Kenny realizes that the Wool Pooh didn’t get Joey. Overjoyed, he bursts out of the house to go tell his parents... (full context)