The Story of Ruby Bridges

Author: Robert Coles
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Copyright: 2004
Genre: Biography
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Ages 7 to 10 (Barnes and Noble)
Summary: Ruby Bridges is a little black girl who grew up during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. When they decided to start desegregating and busing schools, Ruby Bridges was one of the first blacks to go to a school that previously had been strictly for white children. This book tells the story of her experiences first going to this school. She was escorted by Federal Marshalls to school each day because the white parents had pulled their children out of school and were protesting the change. They would crowd around the entrance of the school and shout at Ruby as she walked into the school every day. She was the only one in her class and for that matter, the only one in her school because even all the other teachers except hers were refusing to work as a protest. One day, her teacher looked out the window and saw Ruby coming into the school. She thought Ruby was talking to the people because her lips were moving. When she asked Ruby about it Ruby told her she wasn’t talking to the people but that she was praying for them. She told her teacher that she prayed for them every day. She was praying that God would forgive them for being mean just like the people who had been mean to his son.
Who would you recommend this book to? I think this is a good book for all children to help them learn about equality and caring for all people.
Potential problems or conflicts: I don't see any potential problems or conflicts with this story. I think it was done perfectly for children.
My reaction: This is a good book for children. It's little low on information for adults to have too much interest in it but its a good basic outline of the story and is perfectly written to suit young children. I really liked it as a children's book and love the illustrations.