Customer Reviews

Through My Eyes: Ruby Bridges

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This book is another reminder of the battles waged and obstacles faced by ordinary people during the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s. For those of us who were not there it really is difficult to imagine the intensity of the hatred that so many whites felt. It is disturbing to read of the vicious threats made and the horrible venom spewed at this little girl by adults who should have known better.

A beautiful, moving book that captures the intensity of the south in the early 1960's. Sepia photos and Ruby's own words enable the reader to walk with her as she enters first grade in New Orleans: the first black student in an all-white school in 1961. Ruby's recollections of that year and her present-day thoughts about her early life are honest and memorable. This book will make for great reading for early adolescents and will be an important addition to classroom and library collections.

This is a heart-wrenching story of a courageous little girl. These pages contain a story that should be included in every classroom library. It is a part of American history we must all be knowledgeable of and never forget. The pictures of this delightful sixyear old are wonderful. At the same time the frightening pictures of the protesters are difficult to look at and deal with the emotions they conjure up. This book is a great way to not only introduce a history lesson but also how segregation still exits today in our schools.

I'd not read such a well-written book about the racism of the 60s for children, until now. Prefaced by Harry Belafonte, the book is remarkable on a number of levels. Off the bat, it is written particularly well for small children. The style is clear and concise without being patronizing. Large full pictures of the people and events of the time are placed on each and every page. While these photographs are effective, they are not violent or frightening in a visceral way. The pictures of racists yelling at Ruby and other black children are images that stand on their own. At the bottom of most pages are quotes from some of the major players of the time. A quote from Ruby's mother explains that she was unaware that Ruby would be the only black child attending her school. Another notes that standardized tests given to black children were biased in favor of white middle-class children with the hopes of failing the black. The story has a clear linear feel to it and children reading it will recognize the characters. Ruby herself is a remarkable child, her photographs becoming the most powerful in the book. It is made clear to the reader that Ruby was just like any other child you might meet. This thought is expressed more fully in the back, where a Ruby B. jump-rope rhyme has been written. The repeated phrase "Ruby B., Ruby B., You were a little girl just like me", drills the thought home. All in all, the book is wonderful. I recommend it to any parent, teacher, or librarian struggling to explain the civil rights movement to their kids.

I began reading this book out loud to my 10-year-old because I recognized it as a book that he would not pick up on his own. It was the perfect thing to do because there were all sorts of terms like "segregation" and "racism" that he needed me to explain. But more importantly, he had all sorts of comments and questions about the ignorance and hatred depicted in this true that were worthy of discussion . . . some of which were predictable, some were not. He ended up finishing the book on his own because it is such an engaging story.

I was at a book fair, and I saw this book. I thought it was a book about segragation so I thought that it would be a great addition to my classroom library because I don't have any books on the subject. I got home, and I read the book. It is an autobiography on Ruby Bridges. It was a wonderful and captivating story. I learned so much about segration that I never knew. I especially liked the black and white photographs. I really think that it is an excellent book for children.

Parents always try to protect their children from the worst the world has to offer, and Ruby Bridges' parents did too. An African-American child in the deep South, she was nevertheless unaware of the hatred swirling around her, either in Tylertown Mississippi, where she was born in 1954, or in New Orleans, where her family moved in 1958. Her grandparents were all Mississippi sharecroppers, renting the land they worked with a portion of the cotton and other crops they grew, and struggling to live off the rest. But Ruby spent sheltered summers visiting her grandparents' farms, where she helped to pick and can the beans, cucumbers and other vegetables they grew on two acres reserved to feed the extended family. And at home in New Orleans, her safe and comfortable world of family, jacks, jump rope, tree-climbing, softball--and deep respect for God and her parents--existed entirely on her family's block, only one block away from a white neighborhood.

Then in the summer of 1960, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) contacted Ruby's parents. The Federal court planned to force two white New Orleans schools to admit African-American children. Ruby was one of only a handful of black children who had been tested for admission to these schools, and passed. She was to attend the William Frantz Public School. Her father, Abon Bridges, was opposed to her going; he had fought in a segregated unit in the Korean War, and believed nothing would ever change. Her mother, Lucille, thought otherwise and convinced him to take the risk.

Ruby started the year in her old school while Louisiana Governor Jimmie H. Davis led legislators in Baton Rouge in a fight to preserve segregation. They passed 28 new anti-integration laws and attempted to seize the public school system. Meanwhile Federal District Court Judge J. Skelly Wright upheld Federal laws requiring equal opportunity. Ruby was the only black child sent to William Frantz Public School, however. Another three students were to go to McDonough.

The morning that Federal Marshals arrived to take Ruby to her new school, she only knew only that she was to start a new school, and was not afraid. The policemen at the school door made her think this was an important place. "It must be college," she thought. She sat in the principal's office with her mother all day, and became frightened only when, as she left the school, she saw the crowds of white anti-integration protestors.

The next day, Ruby joined a class with a white teacher named Barbara Henry, whose kindness rose above the fray. No other children joined the class, and within a few days, Ruby was going to school alone with the Marshals; her mother had to return to work. Then the Rev. Lloyd Foreman broke ranks with the white boycotts and sent his daughter Pam to school. The Ku Klux clan began burning crosses in black neighborhoods to frighten the people into giving up their fight for equality. The tension in New Orleans grew each day.

But Ruby quickly became a symbol of freedom, appearing in John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley and a Norman Rockwell painting than ran in Look Magazine. When Abon Bridges lost his job at a local filling station for sending Ruby to a white school, the family began to receive gifts and money from all over the U.S. Even former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote to Ruby.

Some children might cower in fear after such experiences, refuse to go on. Ruby persevered, however, as did her upright family. As a child, she believed that prayer could get her through anything. And it accomplished a great deal.

While she was unable to attend college, Ruby married and raised four sons. Over another 16 pages, Ruby Bridges tells about her subsequent experiences, her contributions and efforts, what she has learned and given.

This historic story of courage and wisdom is worth its weight in gold for the hope it offers readers of all ages. Alyssa A. Lappen

I chose this book from my summer reading list because I have a special interest in the Civil Rights Movement. I learned about Ruby Bridges during African American Month at school and got really interested in her story. I liked this book a lot because it taught me about integration and segration in a way that was easy to understand. The photographs brought the story to life, and I liked the way the story was told from Ruby's point of view. I would really recommend this book to kids my age (third grade) and older who are interested in this kind of book. My parents really liked the book too!

Sophie K.

This inspirational story, told by Ruby Bridges herself, can help children understand some of the struggles of African-Americans during the 1960's. Ruby's courageousness and determination is the message young readers are presented with. The real-life photos give readers a visual account of the hard times that Ruby and other African-Americans endured. Also included in this autobiography are quotes from many of the people that Ruby encountered in her life including her mother, her first grade teacher, Barbara Henry, and her childhood psychologist, Robert Cole. A quote from a 1963 speech by Martin Luther King is included which further supports the civil rights theme in this book. Excerpts from text such as The New York Times and Good Housekeeping gives readers even more factual information about the time period. The book includes photo credits as well as text credits with copyrights to ensure the reliability. This text can be used with children in grades five through eight studying the civil rights movement or school integration in the 1960's.

I like this book because it show s how things were when people didn't like colored people. And how Ruby's mom was brave enough to let her daught go to a white school. I thought it was hurible for the people to make fun of and threting the little girl ,even the ladies and girls.