The Story of Ruby Bridges

The Story of Ruby Bridges
Coles, Robert
Ford, Robert
Scholastic Inc. NY, NY. 1995
Picture book Biography

Ruby Bridges came from a very poor African American family who lived in New Orleans. Ruby's father worked as a janitor and Ruby's mother worked the night shift cleaning a bank. Ruby was chosen to be the first African American to be sent to a newly integrated elementary school in New Orleans. The parents of the white children who attended the school did not want black children to go to the same school as their students so they picketed the school and refused to let their children go to school with Ruby.


Ruby had to be escorted to school by an armed U.S Marshal so that none of the angry protesters would hurt her. The mobs said horrible things to her and a women even flaunted a black doll in a casket. Despite all of this, Ruby went to school day after day eager to learn. She was all alone in the school accept for her teacher Mrs. Henry. Mrs. Henry watched every day as Ruby made her way through the angry mob, But one day Mrs. Henry observed something different. She saw Ruby stop and say something to the mob that made them even more angry. Mrs. Henry asked Ruby what she had said and Ruby replied that she said a prayer for the people who were saying such horrible things about her. Ruby told Mrs. Henry that she prayed for God to forgive them for what they were doing and saying and she had forgotten to say the prayer until she got to school. Parents of the other students in that school finally gave in and sent their children to school.

George Ford Used Watercolor, acrylic inks, and drawing inks to create the beautiful double page illustrations in the book. Ford used lots of light colors that gave me a sense of hope throughout the book. There is something about these illustrations that put them among my favorite illustrations in any children's book. They were all absolutely exquisite and very detailed. The illustrations helped me visualize the precious little Ruby and how strong she really was.

This is a wonderful book. Previous to reading this book I had not heard or read much about Ruby. I am glad that I know know about his book because I defiantly want to share her story with my students so they will know about the struggles many children in our country faced so they could go to school and get a good education just because of their race. I think it is so sad that Ruby had to be subjected to such cruelty at her young age. I think all children can relate to Ruby's story in some way because they have most all felt alone and scared by bullies. I think this book would be a great tool to use to lead into a lesson about the Civil Rights Movement and tollerence.

Rosa

Rosa
Giovanni, Nikki
Collier, Bryan
Scholastic Inc. NY., NY 2007
Picture book Biography


Rosa is a snapshot in history of Rosa Park's life. The book takes place during the Civil Rights Movement when African American's were being discriminated against. Rosa was a wife and a mother who worked as a seamstress. She was very dedicated and skilled at her job. Rosa often spent long hours at her job, but on December 1 1955, Rosa's boss let her leave early because her mother was ill. Rosa paid her bus fare and entered the bus from the rear as usual. She took a seat in the neutral section on the bus where she was allowed to set only if there were no white people that needed a seat. Rosa was not seated long before a white man wanted her seat. Rosa refused to get up so the bus driver had her arrested. Many people were very angry that Rosa was arrested for sitting in a seat that should have been rightfully hers. Because of this injustice, many African Americans refused to take the bus until the unjust law was changed. The boycott lasted almost a year until the supreme court ruled that segregation on buses was unconstitutional. Rosa became a very famous member of the Civil Rights Movement and is to this day admired by many.

The illustrations in this book by Bryan Collier were made from Watercolor and collage. Th Illustrator wrote that he used lots of yellows an dark hues to emphasize the hot temperatures in Alabama as well as to emphasize the fear and tension that was everywhere during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. The double page illustrations were outstanding and really did help me to understand the setting of this extremely moving book. I think that these illustrations are very important for readers to be able to understand how hard life was for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement because our society is so different now. Collier's illustrations do a wonderful job showing Rosa's grit and determination as well as the injustice she endured.

I think that this is an outstanding children's book. I feel that children need to know about the injustices of the past so that they will not be repeated in the future. Rosa Parks was strong and courageous woman and she is a great role model for young girls and all Americans. I think the author did a great job of explaining the significance of Rosa's actions so that children could understand. I would definitely read this book to my students to make them more aware of the struggles African Americans have faced in our countries history.

Madam President

Madam President
Thimmesh, Catherine
Jones, Douglas
Collective Biographies
Houghton Mifflin Company(2008)
4-5
Madam President is a clever and informative book about a young girl's desire to become the President of the United States and the history of women in politics. The book begins with a young girl proclaiming that she will be the President of the United States when she grows up. She is laughed at and told that she cannot be the President because she is a girl. Then the reader learns about the contributions women have made throughout the world in politics. From Abigail Adams to Benazir Bhutto, we learn about first ladies, senators, congresswomen, Secretaries of state, Supreme Court Justices Vice Presidential candidates, and world leaders all of whom were women. Throughout the book there are tid bits about how few women in America are leaders and facts like America is ranked 52nd in the world when it comes to women in politics. The girl is able to convince her friends that it doesn't matter if she is a girl because she can be the President and that there are no laws to stop her from fulfilling her dreams. At the end of the book there is a time line of women in politics.

The minny Biographies about women in politics are very informative and taught me allot about these women I was previously unaware of many of these women's contributions and accomplishments. The Biographies are a lesson with in them selves because so many of the women in this book are rarely mentioned in history books and they are definitely not portrayed with such importance. this book teaches students that women are very capable of being leaders and that many women have been and are current leaders. This book mixes facts from history with the ambitions of a young girl which I feel would help young readers identify with the book. The only criticism I have for the book is that the book would be more informative if the biographies were longer and more detailed.

The single and double page illustrations were drawn with pencil and the color was applied using photo shop. The digital coloring of the photos gave them a very unique look which captured my attention right away. Jones did an excellent job illustrating the girls disappointment and frustration with our society's stereotypes for women. He also captured her determination. There is also a collage of the white house that is made up entirely of tiny photos of women and young girls which was like nothing I had ever seen.