Rosa's Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights [Paperback]

Like all buses in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1950's, Bus #2857 was segregated: white passengers sat in the front and black passengers sat in the back—until Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a major event in the Civil Rights movement led by a young minister, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For 382 days, black passengers chose to walk rather than ride the buses in Montgomery. Employing direct, accessible, relentless language arranged in free-verse stanzas, the author brings to life the drama of Parks's act (neither busting myths nor exploiting them) and the events it sparked. Walker's double-page, large-scale oils evoke the emotions of a determined people and perfectly complement the text. The author's note contextualizes the boycott and names Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith as Parks's forerunners. Powerful. (sources) --Kirkus Reviews

An inventive approach. . . . Kids will connect with the unsentimental, contemporary message: 'Imagine where it has been / and where we have yet to go.' --BooklistJo S. Kittingeris the author of more than 25 books, including picture books, middle-grade nonfiction, and both fiction and nonfiction easy readers. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama. jokittinger.com

Steven Walkeris an artist and a painting instructor. He won the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Rosa's Bus. He lives in Columbus, Ohio. stevenwalkerstudios.comCN