Customer Reviews

Ruth and the Green Book

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Ruth and the Green Book" tells the historically based story of how African American travelers in the USA avoided persecution, prejudice and danger by following advice about recommended service stations, restaurants, and places to stay called "The Negro Motorist Green Book." Written in 1936, the Green Book was sold at Esso stations, which were about the only stations that sold gas to African Americans until 1964. The story tells of a girl named Ruth who is making a trip with her family from Chicago to Alabama to visit her Grandma. Although the story is fictional, the Green Book and Jim Crow laws were not. "Ruth and the Green Book" is a needed addition to modern African American history that will appeal to children ages 7 and up. "Ruth and the Green Book" includes information about the history of the Green Book.

This book is an "education" for young people who know nothing of the extreme predjudice that existed all over this country earlier in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is a warm, gentle story relating a cruel, hurtful time in our American history. A

For me, the illustrations in this book almost steal the show... they are magnificent and evocative!

Because it is not very long, at first I thought that the story would not be adequate to the task of exploring the "Green Book" theme.

But after reading it through, I realized that the story does touch on all the important points, and the author is simply using a judicious economy of words.

The story is all it needs to be, and strikes just the right tone, demonstrating how wrong segregation was from the level of basic humanity.

The book ends up packing quite a powerful punch, but in an understated way.

I'm looking forward to sharing this book with friends, both the old ones and the young ones, and recommending it to others.

Ruth could barely contain her excitement. Her father had just purchased a 1952 Buick for his new job, and her parents planned to use it to visit Grandma in Alabama. It would take several days to drive from Chicago down south, and Ruth's mom had spent a whole week cooking food for their trip. Ruth quickly discovered why they needed to pack so much of their own food: outside of the city, they encountered great difficultly in finding service stations, hotels, and restaurants that would serve African Americans.

Jim Crow laws in the south made it even more difficult to find establishments that catered to African Americans. Fortunately, an attendant at an Esso service station along the way sold them a copy of the Negro Motorist Green Book, a state-by-state guide to establishments that welcomed black customers. Ruth no longer needed to worry about having to sleep in the car, and she was even able to help her father find a service station when their car broke down.

With its poignant illustrations and unique plot, this book provides young readers with a lucid account of some of the indignities and hardships that African Americans had to endure as a result of the Jim Crow laws in the south and discriminatory practices across states. An informative afterword provides more details about the Green Book and its usefulness to African American businesspeople and travelers on the road.

This outstanding historical fiction picture book highlights the harsh realities of travel for African-Americans in the Jim Crow South. It's well-known that many hotels would not accept African-American travelers, but did you know that many gas stations refused to sell gas to African-Americans as well?

In this story, beautifully illustrated by Floyd Cooper's nostalgic, almost sepia-toned paintings, young Ruth is so excited when Daddy comes home with their very own automobile--a shiny green Buick, that Daddy will use for work but also for them to take a trip from their home in Chicago to her grandma's home in Alabama. When they eventually stop for gas on the way, Ruth and her Mama have to relieve themselves in the bushes, because the restrooms were for whites only. And when they stop in a hotel with plenty of vacancies, they are refused a room, and are forced to drive through the night instead.

Ruth overhears her daddy talking about someone named Jim Crow, but then finds out that Jim Crow "wasn't a who. It was a bunch of ugly laws forbidding blacks and whites from mixing in any way." Ruth finds this hard to understand, and her feelings are hurt to be so unwelcome. Isn't our money just as good, she wonders.

But at an Esso station they learn about The Negro Motorist Green Book, started by a postman named Victor Green to help black people out who were traveling by car. Like today's AAA guides, it listed places around the country to eat, stay, shop, and visit--but in this case places that would welcome African-American travelers. With the guide, Ruth's family finds inns that welcomed them, and other African-Americans, including traveling salesmen, who depended on the Green Book to do their jobs.

This picture book highlights just one aspect of the Jim Crow laws, but in a compelling way, from a child's point of view, in a manner that makes the racism of the time more accessible to a young person's level of understanding. This is an excellent title for starting or enhancing a discussion of civil rights either at home or in the classroom. The book was recognized by ALA as a Notable Children's Book from 2010.

"Ruth and the Green Book" is historical fiction in a richly illustrated picture book format narrating the Jim Crow experience from the view of a young African-American girl traveling south to visit her grandmother, who lives in Alabama sometime during the 1930s. Uh-oh.

The Green Book was a handbook created by Victor Green, an African American, to help others perhaps avoid dangers associated with traveling while black in Jim Crow South. If there wasn't an equivalent for the North, there should have been. In history (and now), the South shouldn't carry the entire burden for being populated with hot-headed, ignorant, racist white folk.

The Green Book listed places black folk could buy gas, eat in a nice restaurant, sleep overnight in clean and comfortable rooms, get their suits tailored, their hair did, shop, and even entertain themselves IN PEACE . . .without having to wrestle someone else's misguided, ill-informed, and ungodly opinion about what black folk were. It was even good for advising them in what towns they needed to make a focused attempt to be out of come sunset. And, actually, we still have need of a Green Book. We STILL aren't sure of where we'd be welcomed, domestically or abroad.

Whenever my family traveled - south or north - my mother always packed a LOT of food. We always started out very early in the morning, driving straight through, not stopping AT ALL. I used to wonder about that. Now I think I know why.

Few words told the story. The author managed to stir up what I'd bet for most people are emotions and memories forgotten or buried. The elation and anticipation of a car trip dampened or even destroyed by white people all named Jim Crow who looked at you like you were dirt then treated you accordingly. Being forced to a base level in order to just get along and get past that insanity and get on about your own business. Finding that port in the storm that actually welcomes you because they know the unique hell you're going through because they go through it or live with it, too. Every emotion is there in very few words and rich illustrating. And it does this without creating over-balanced emotions in the reader. That's a masterful combination of writing and storytelling.

"Ruth and the Green Book" is a piece of history delivered surprisingly quickly, effectively aimed towards young readers who are learning how black folk weren't (and in some cases and places, still aren't) considered to be "good" enough to be out rubbing shoulders and - God forbid - interacting with white folk. It gently teaches the youngest of us (arguably all of us) that they should be grateful for those who made the way straight so that the signs they see on the roads advertising places to go and things to do, now mean "yes, black people, you too." Well, let's say much more likely.

There was a little more information about the Green Book in the back and I tried researching it on the Web but got not a lot more information than what's offered here. I also wanted to know more about the people behind Esso stations. If they were black, that story needs to be told, and if they were white, then that certainly needs to be told if only to establish that many, probably the majority of, white folk did what they could - and beyond - in their own quest to buffet and end the nightmare of racism. Bravo! and highly recommended.

Ruth and her Mama smiled and waved as Daddy proudly opened the car to his new 1954 Buick. Of course he would use it to get to his job, but more importantly for the family, would be using it "to go on a trip to visit Grandma in Alabama. The winding roads soon took them away from the busy streets of Chicago as they began their journey. Daddy regaled them with "lots of stories about when he was a boy in Alabama." The joy and excitement soon turn to embarrassment when a gas station attendant refused to let them use the restroom. Ruth, head down, walked into the woods with her Mama because the restroom was "for whites only." Even her Brown Bear, a baby toy she'd brought along for the ride, couldn't comfort her.

Daddy was angry and Mama's face grew grave as she stared straight ahead. It was time to be silent, yet Ruth sensed this place was different, very different from Chicago. They traveled through the night and the further they drove, the more "White Only" signs seemed to appear. Ruth "felt homesick, and [she] hugged Brown Bear close all day." When they arrived in Tennessee, the music filled the air as Daddy played the saxophone with an old buddy, Eddy. Ruth snuggled in bed with her bear, while her wistful eyes stared at nothing as she tried to sleep. Daddy had "hoped that the war had changed things, but now he could see he was wrong." The next day Eddy told them to watch for an Esso station. Little did they know that there would be something waiting for them there that would help them on their journey. Was there anything that could keep them from feeling so unwelcome in the South?

This is an amazingly poignant story of a family's experience with "The Negro Motorist Green Book." Of course the story of Ruth and her family is fictionalized, yet the history many families experience with this book is not. The anger, pain, and humiliation of the situation oozes from the pages. The artwork has a grainy, nostalgic look to it that meshes perfectly with this tale. The illustrations perfectly capture every emotional nuance in the faces of the characters. The picture book format will be a draw for the reluctant reader, but the subject matter will be of interest to all ages, especially those interested in the "lost" history of Victor Green's book to help African American's traverse the South safely. In the back of the book is a brief overview of Jim Crow laws and a fascinating history of the Green book.

I bought this book for my grandchildren.....actually, because it was picked by the American Library Association as one of their favorite children's books, I sent them three copies, the other two for them to give as gifts. Gwen Strauss is a very talented person in her narative and writing skill. Not only do my grandchildren love the book, they want to keep all three copies! Equally important, their parents are very impressed with the book as well. This is a family that watches no television, reading is their favorite pass time. So to find a book that they don't have and is new for them is an extra plus. Very impressive!