Rosa opens the morning of December 1, 1955. Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama prepares for work. The high demand for alterations of Christmas clothes is swinging into high gear. Rosa Parks and the other ladies in the department are working long hours.

Later that afternoon, she leaves work for home. She rides the public bus. There she sits down for a quiet ride home. There is no quiet ride home for this rider, for Rosa Parks will say no to the injustices suffered by her and her fellow Black-Americans. A “No!” which is to be echoed loudly by all people around the United States of America.

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni conveys the quiet strength of the small woman from Alabama. Rosa Parks is tired of the “Colored” this and that. She is tired of the injustice of it all. Ms. Giovanni’s words give a gentle tone to the story. In her retelling of the well-known Rosa Parks’s story, she blends in information concerning the Supreme Court, Emmett Till and others.

Bryan Collier is the illustrator for Rosa. This award winning artist creates warm pictures that are a combination of watercolors and collage.

Rosa Parks has been in the news lately. Our children are curious to learn about the civil rights icon. This picture book will give them knowledge. All children must come to know this great American. The book does a great job of retelling the events of December 1, 1955 and Rosa Parks’ part in it and how her action changed America.

Remember to share with the young reader how the changes in the civil rights history book happen without violence. Violence is not the way to solve problems.



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Note: Rosa review copy was received free from the publisher.