Rosa
By: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrated By: Bryan Collier
Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York: Scholastic.
Summary:
This a vey poignant story about an African American heroine of civil rights. She stood up for what she believed in and did not give up her seat on the bus. The story begins as she leaves from work to go prepare an early supper for her family. She steps on the bus only to find the neutral seats available and trouble about to brew. She "sits" for her beliefs and is arrested. Many people boycot the bus lines to make the city hear their protest. Martin Luther King hears of the problem and comes to help. Through peaceful demonstrations, the law is changed and black and white people are equal.
Impressions:
I simply loved this book, the story of Rosa Parks is one of my favorites to listen to and read. I love the strength she has and composure she radiates while she is arrested. She never becomes irractic and shows everyone that she will "sit" for her rights as an American. I feel more children ned to hear stories about people such as Rosa Parks to help inspire them about what is important to them. She is a great lesson of American history.
Ways to Use in the Library:
This book is a great way to teach the autobiography and the Civil Rights Movement. Giovanni tells the story so vibrantly and Collier illustrates it beautifully. I feel as though I am in the city wanting to protest right alongside Rosa Parks. I feel this book would help students understand the Civil Rights movement. They would want to become to part of the history and learn more about what happened with Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and others.
Review -
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5–Rosa Parks's personal story moves quickly into a summary of the Civil Rights movement in this striking picture book. Parks is introduced in idealized terms. She cares for her ill mother and is married to one of the best barbers in the county. Sewing in an alterations department, Rosa Parks was the best seamstress. Her needle and thread flew through her hands like the gold spinning from Rumpelstiltskin's loom. Soon the story moves to her famous refusal to give up her seat on the bus, but readers lose sight of her as she waits to be arrested. Giovanni turns to explaining the response of the Women's Political Caucus, which led to the bus boycott in Montgomery. A few events of the movement are interjected–the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the aftermath and reactions to the murder of Emmett Till, the role of Martin Luther King, Jr., as spokesperson. Collier's watercolor and collage scenes are deeply hued and luminous, incorporating abstract and surreal elements along with the realistic figures. Set on colored pages, these illustrations include an effective double foldout page with the crowd of successful walkers facing a courthouse representing the 1956 Supreme Court verdict against segregation on the buses. Many readers will wonder how it all went for Parks after her arrest, and there are no added notes. Purposeful in its telling, this is a handsome and thought-provoking introduction to these watershed acts of civil disobedience.–Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 3-5. Far from the cliche of Rosa Parks as the tired little seamstress, this beautiful picture-book biography shows her as a strong woman, happy at home and at work, and politically aware ("not tired from work, but tired of . . . eating at separate lunch counters and learning at separate schools"). Her refusal to give up her seat on a bus inspires her friend Jo Ann Robinson, president of the Women's Political Council, and the 25 council members to make posters calling for the bus boycott, and they organize a mass meeting where the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. speaks for them. Paired very effectively with Giovanni's passionate, direct words, Collier's large watercolor-and-collage illustrations depict Parks as an inspiring force that radiates golden light, and also as part of a dynamic activist community. In the unforgettable close-up that was used for the cover, Parks sits quietly waiting for the police as a white bus driver demands that she give up her seat. In contrast, the final picture opens out to four pages showing women, men, and children marching for equal rights at the bus boycott and in the years of struggle yet to come. The history comes clear in the astonishing combination of the personal and the political. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"Paired very effectively with Giovanni's passionate, direct words, Collier's large watercolor-and-collage illustrations depict Parks as an inspiring force that radiates golden light." -- Booklist, Starred Review
"Purposeful in its telling, this is a handsome and thought-provoking introduction to these watershed acts of civil disobedience." -- School Library Journal
"Giovanni and Collier offer a moving interpretation of Rosa Park's momentous refusal to give up her bus seat. The author brings her heroine very much to life...a fresh take on a remarkable historic event." -- Publishers Weekly
"An essential volume for classrooms and libraries." -- Kirkus Reviews
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