Giovanni, N., & Collier, B.
(2006). Rosa. New York: Scholastic.
This biographical story is about a seamstress named
Rosa Parks. Each time she rode the bus she would always have to use the rear
door on the back of the bus since that is where blacks were required to sit.
However, as she is leaving work one day, there were no seats in that section,
so Rosa sat in the neutral section, where black and whites could both sit. The
bus driver angrily yelled at Rosa to get up and give him the seat. Rosa stood
her ground and refused to move. She was arrested for not giving up her seat. Proud
of Rosa, the Women’s Political Council, and NAACP, held a mass meeting to hear
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. announce that colored people should stay off the buses.
Colored people marched, in a nonviolent way to protest. A year after Rosa’s
arrest, the Supreme Court declared segregation was illegal. The yellow hue
given to Rosa’s face is symbolic of the light she shed for so many other
African Americans after her. The gentle illustrations of Rosa’s soft, warm
facial features provide a feeling of hope to so many that had lost it. The
yellow and dark tones on each picture give a sense of optimism and faith during
dark desperate times. The last page is an elaborate fold out of the various
people Rosa influenced and paved a way towards equality for. Rosa has won the Caldecott Honor award
and Coretta Scott King award. Due to the length and vocabulary of the book, I
would recommend this book for older elementary children.
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