Rosa (Hardcover)

by Nikki Giovanni (Author), Bryan Collier (Illustrator) "Mrs. Parks was having a good day..." (more)
Key Phrases: Rosa Parks, Women's Political Council

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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Amazon.com's Significant Seven
Nikki Giovanni graciously agreed to answer the questions we like to ask every author: the Amazon.com Significant Seven.

Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life?
A: No single book. The poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, and Gwendolyn Brooks was an impact, however.

Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they?
A: Sula by Toni Morrison, Great American Spirituals, and The Godfather.

Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told?
A: "You're the best."

Q: Describe the perfect writing environment.
A: A cup of coffee, my rocking chair, the sun just rising through my left window.

Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
A: "I tried."

Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
A: Lorraine Hansberry

Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
A: I would fly.

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From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5–Rosa Parks's personal story moves quickly into a summary of the Civil Rights movement in this striking picture book. Parks is introduced in idealized terms. She cares for her ill mother and is married to one of the best barbers in the county. Sewing in an alterations department, Rosa Parks was the best seamstress. Her needle and thread flew through her hands like the gold spinning from Rumpelstiltskin's loom. Soon the story moves to her famous refusal to give up her seat on the bus, but readers lose sight of her as she waits to be arrested. Giovanni turns to explaining the response of the Women's Political Caucus, which led to the bus boycott in Montgomery. A few events of the movement are interjected–the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the aftermath and reactions to the murder of Emmett Till, the role of Martin Luther King, Jr., as spokesperson. Collier's watercolor and collage scenes are deeply hued and luminous, incorporating abstract and surreal elements along with the realistic figures. Set on colored pages, these illustrations include an effective double foldout page with the crowd of successful walkers facing a courthouse representing the 1956 Supreme Court verdict against segregation on the buses. Many readers will wonder how it all went for Parks after her arrest, and there are no added notes. Purposeful in its telling, this is a handsome and thought-provoking introduction to these watershed acts of civil disobedience.–Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details Reading level: Ages 9-12 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (September 15, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0439898838 ISBN-13: 978-0805071061 ASIN: 0805071067 Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #424,032 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #31 in  Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Biographies > Social Activists

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Rosa Parks, Women's Political Council

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	77% buy the item featured on this page: Rosa 4.0 out of 5 stars (13) $12.71
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	7% buy Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 4.6 out of 5 stars (23) $6.99
	4% buy Henry's Freedom Box (Caldecott Honor Book) 4.9 out of 5 stars (18) $11.55

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13 Reviews 5 star:  (4) 4 star:  (5) 3 star:  (4) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 40 of 43 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars "The only tired I was, was tired of giving in"., February 5, 2006 By  E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    When I was a child in elementary school and Black History Month came along, the children in my class were taught small songs about various African-American heroes. There was the Harriet Tubman song, the Benjamin Banneker song, and the Rosa Parks song. The Rosa Parks song began in this way, "Rosa Parks was tired and sat / In the front of the bus not back / They tried to make her change her seat / Because she was black". Of course, there are two things wrong with this song already. First of all, she sat in the middle of the bus. Not the back of it. Second of all she wasn't tired. Ms. Parks was an activist, but to make her seem like an everywoman her membership in the NAACP was downplayed so that she would be more sympathetic. The plan worked beautifully and Ms. Parks was raised to the status of folk-hero, as was right. UN-fortunately, there are countless children's books out there that choose to ignore her activism. They are under the distinct impression that if children also think that Ms. Parks was tired or unwittingly told to move that it's so much easier a story to tell. "Rosa" is one such book. No one is going to hold this book in their hands and say that it isn't one of the loveliest creations ever to hit the children's book market. Bryan Collier, by all accounts one of the nicest guys on the globe, has never received the respect and attention he so richly deserves. My hope is that someday he illustrates a book worthy of a Caldecott Award rather than a Caldecott Honor. Unfortunately this was not the book. It is through no fault of his own, of course. Mr. Collier has taken his trademark watercolor and collage technique and given it a purposeful yellow hue. He has done this, he says in his Illustrator's Note, because "I wanted the reader to feel in that heat a foreshadowing, an uneasy quiet before the storm". Along the way he spots the pictures with intelligent details as well. A man riding the bus holds up an article prefaced by just the words, "Emmett Till". When Rosa refuses to move you suddenly get an image from her perspective. A white man glares at her with obvious hatred while some black women frown at Rosa for putting them in (what they see as) potential danger. And that image of just her hands clutching the strap of her purse? Heck, I wouldn't mind framing that and putting it on a wall. That's art in the purest sense of the word. So no argument on how wonderful the images are in this book. It's the words you have to contest. I had high hopes for Rosa. I hoped that the book talked about Ms. Parks in the NAACP, didn't perpetuate the myth that she was "tired", and was well-written. Says Rosa Parks in her autobiography, "Rosa Parks: My Story", "People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in". In fact, further reading of her book shows that Ms. Parks was an active member of the NAACP. She was an activist and at the time of her arrest the NAACP had been hoping to have a case in which they could file suit against the city of Montgomery over bus segregation. A woman had been arrested earlier that summer but had paid her fine without objection. "Hers certainly wasn't a good case for Mr. Nixon to appeal to a higher court. I knew they needed a plaintiff who was beyond reproach". And though she did not step-by-step plan her own arrest, she understood its greater implications. Ms. Giovanni does not mention that Rosa Parks was more than just an everyday seamstress going home at the end of a workday. At one point she sees a man who "came frequently to the NAACP Youth Council affairs", but the book makes no mention that she herself was a member. To her credit, the author does make an after-the-fact statement of how Rosa wasn't physically tired. So there is that. But there are factual inaccuracies in this book that do not match Ms. Parks' own book. According to "Rosa", Jo Ann Robinson learned of the arrest when, "A sister member of the Women's Political Council approached her just as she reached the checkout lane". Ms. Robinson was indeed the president of this council but she was told of Ms. Park's arrest through Fred Gray, a black attorney. In "Rosa" the Women's Council is the only organization that comes up with the idea of the boycott. In reality much of the credit goes to the work of E.D. Nixon who mobilized support through the city's black ministers. "Rosa" mentions them later when the boycott has already been established and the NAACP, Women's Political Council, and churches decide on Martin Luther King Jr. as their spokesperson. Okay, but then there's the writing itself. It's very odd, but for some reason the book makes a big big point out of how many of the women who contributed to the Civil Rights movement spent much of their time thinking about tending to their husbands. Right before the bus driver tells her to move the book says that Ms. Parks was, "daydreaming about her good day and planning her special meal for her husband". Two other times it says that she would surprise her husband with "meat loaf, his favorite" and that when she was paying her fare "she was smiling in anticipation of the nice dinner she would make". Now Ms. Giovanni, as it happens, knew Rosa Parks personally so we can assume that she got this information firsthand. It just struck me as a touch out of place. When Rosa got on that bus she recognized the bus driver as a particularly nasty fellow she'd dealt with in the past before. There was no daydreaming involved in her autobiography. Apparently such additions make for a better story though. When Jo Ann Robinson finds out about Rosa's arrest she "rushed home to put dinner on the table, cleaned up the kitchen, and put the kids to bed". Obviously these are all important things in their own way, but why were they included in this story? Is Ms. Giovanni trying to make a point that the women of the civil rights movement didn't abandon their families while they fought for justice? If so, why? It doesn't seem integral to the story. This is a book about Rosa Parks and the larger context of what she did. And then there's the text. It's unfortunate but I kept getting annoyed at the book's writing style. At one point it says that "Rosa Parks was the best seamstress. The needle and thread flew through her hands like the gold spinning from Rumpelstiltskin's loom". Rumpelstiltskin's loom, eh? Rumpelstiltskin had a loom? I guess saying "spinning wheel" would have been redundant since she'd already said "spinning" and figured that few enough people know what looms are to complain. It's a petty complaint with the book, sure, but it rankles. In another case the book never mentions how Ms. Parks got out of jail. She goes to jail, sure. But you would think her release would be an important part of the story. For all that the kids reading this book know, Ms. Parks is still sitting inside that jail cell in Montgomery, Alabama. After a second and third reading of the book I flipped to the back to see what books were included in "Rosa"'s bibliography. Obviously Ms. Giovanni wasn't working off of "Rosa Parks: My Story", so what books did she consult? From her friendship with Ms. Parks it must have been from one-on-one interviews since there isn't hide nor hair of a bibliography to be seen. You may say that it's a little silly of me to think there would be a bibliography in the back of a picture book, but I've read enough empowering and well-wrought picture book biographies that DID have bibliographies that I naturally assumed "Rosa" would too. No such luck. So here's the dilemma. The book is about a true hero of the American people. Nobody but NOBODY contests that. The pictures in this book are drop-dead gorgeous too. Bryan Collier is a genius. Rosa Parks, however, deserved the best possible picture book biography. Instead she has a book about her that does not credit factual sources, includes details that do not fit, and holds back important information that children should learn. You want my advice? Read "Rosa Parks: My Story" (NOT the picture book one but the 192 page version), know the true facts of the case, then take "Rosa" and show the pictures to your kids while telling them the true tale. Criticizing anything that has to do with Rosa Parks is a dangerous activity. Ms. Giovanni's heart is in the right place. And, I will point out, this book garnered itself a coveted Caldecott, so what the heck do I know? For your consideration. 35 of 39 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful illustrations, writing is poorly done, November 29, 2005 By  Rachel D. Flachman "LJ & BJ's Mom" (Maple Grove, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I bought this book because I wanted something substantive for the little girls in my life who dream of being princesses... (really, how many tiara's does a four-year old really need?) I read the first few pages and was smitten with the illustrations. They are beautiful. Well done Mr. Collier. Since beautiful illustrations go far in this age range, I would give this book three stars. The Rosa Parks story stands alone as one of substance. But this book falls short of providing a readable story for children. It doesn't flow as good writing should for any age group, but rather jumps around and tries to provide so much data, that it fails to actually tell a story about the great lady it was written to commemorate. If you have enough history about the story and can tell it yourself to your children, the book may be worth buying for the illustrations alone. For my money, I would rather find something that is also a good read for my kids. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars "...She was tired. Not tired from work, but tired of putting white people first...", April 26, 2006 By  Tilly - See all my reviews I liked Ms. Giovanni's approach to telling this story. Given that it is a children's book, I appreciate that she looks at the humanity of Rosa Parks, (a woman with a life and a husband), rather than just her political role. I know that my kids will relate better to the story because of that. Furthermore, Ms. Giovanni doesn't pretend that the events on the bus were an unforeseeable coincidence. I find the lead up to be both personal and portentous of things to come. It reads better as being opportunistic rather than engineered or manipulated and I don't think that she portrays Rosa as lacking intention. In fact, I imagine that Ms. Giovanni's source (as I have read) was her meeting with Rosa Parks herself. I expect that, in person, the truth of her story reaches a deeper personal level and Ms. Giovanni felt able to build on previously documented interpretations. Everyone has a voice and with the warm, expressive pictures, I find it an effective combination for children.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Rosa I would recommend this book mainly for children in 3rd through 5th grade. My favorite thing about this book is how the writing and the illustrations work together to make you feel... Read more Published 1 month ago by Stephanie Cantrell 3.0 out of 5 stars Great book-Poor binding It is a well-written book with great illustration. However, the second time I picked it up to read to my granddaughter, the inside pages fell away from the cover. Published 2 months ago by Judy Kelly Sirk 5.0 out of 5 stars A Rosa By Any Other Name Sometimes I think the nicest thing about Nikki Giovanni is she lets a good story unwind before you all by itself. Read more Published 4 months ago by a gentle sound 4.0 out of 5 stars Great intro to Rosa Parks Beautiful illustrations accompany this simplified story of Rosa Park and the movement she inspired. The writing is very personal, though I was slightly annoyed at how the point of... Read more Published 10 months ago by Emily Taylor 3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful prose and illustrations, but... if you're looking for an children's biography of Rose Parks or of the Civil Rights Movement, this books isn't it. Read more Published on June 10, 2007 by K. Row 5.0 out of 5 stars Mulitcultural Literature Most students are familiar with Rosa Parks, but this story takes you beyond the bus. We get a glimps into Rosa's personal life, which allows students to develop more connections... Read more Published on March 8, 2007 by L. Calarco 4.0 out of 5 stars Rosa Good book, beautiful artwork. Get the book if nothing else for the pictures. The book itself was ok, it was a little jumpy and didn't go into very much detail of the actual... Read more Published on February 11, 2007 by K-LEN 4.0 out of 5 stars Rosa Everyday Rosa Parks rode the bus to work. There was a black and white section. She sat down in the neutral section and a man didn't want her to, but she stayed and got arrested... Read more Published on November 8, 2006 by OOSA Online Book Club 5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book A must read for all youngsters. The feedback that we have gotten on this book from the kids who have read Tyler and His Solve-a-matic machine by Jennifer Bouani, is very positive... Read more Published on July 23, 2006 by Jennifer Bouani 5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and well written This is a beautifully illustrated AND written picture book about Rosa Parks. Both the words and illustrations are sophisticated and will spark questions when you read this aloud... Read more Published on January 28, 2006 by Murphy Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (September 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439898838
• ISBN-13: 978-0805071061
• ASIN: 0805071067
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #424,032 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

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  Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Biographies > Social Activists

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "The only tired I was, was tired of giving in"., February 5, 2006

By	E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When I was a child in elementary school and Black History Month came along, the children in my class were taught small songs about various African-American heroes. There was the Harriet Tubman song, the Benjamin Banneker song, and the Rosa Parks song. The Rosa Parks song began in this way, "Rosa Parks was tired and sat / In the front of the bus not back / They tried to make her change her seat / Because she was black". Of course, there are two things wrong with this song already. First of all, she sat in the middle of the bus. Not the back of it. Second of all she wasn't tired. Ms. Parks was an activist, but to make her seem like an everywoman her membership in the NAACP was downplayed so that she would be more sympathetic. The plan worked beautifully and Ms. Parks was raised to the status of folk-hero, as was right. UN-fortunately, there are countless children's books out there that choose to ignore her activism. They are under the distinct impression that if children also think that Ms. Parks was tired or unwittingly told to move that it's so much easier a story to tell. "Rosa" is one such book.

No one is going to hold this book in their hands and say that it isn't one of the loveliest creations ever to hit the children's book market. Bryan Collier, by all accounts one of the nicest guys on the globe, has never received the respect and attention he so richly deserves. My hope is that someday he illustrates a book worthy of a Caldecott Award rather than a Caldecott Honor. Unfortunately this was not the book. It is through no fault of his own, of course. Mr. Collier has taken his trademark watercolor and collage technique and given it a purposeful yellow hue. He has done this, he says in his Illustrator's Note, because "I wanted the reader to feel in that heat a foreshadowing, an uneasy quiet before the storm". Along the way he spots the pictures with intelligent details as well. A man riding the bus holds up an article prefaced by just the words, "Emmett Till". When Rosa refuses to move you suddenly get an image from her perspective. A white man glares at her with obvious hatred while some black women frown at Rosa for putting them in (what they see as) potential danger. And that image of just her hands clutching the strap of her purse? Heck, I wouldn't mind framing that and putting it on a wall. That's art in the purest sense of the word. So no argument on how wonderful the images are in this book. It's the words you have to contest.

I had high hopes for Rosa. I hoped that the book talked about Ms. Parks in the NAACP, didn't perpetuate the myth that she was "tired", and was well-written. Says Rosa Parks in her autobiography, "Rosa Parks: My Story", "People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in". In fact, further reading of her book shows that Ms. Parks was an active member of the NAACP. She was an activist and at the time of her arrest the NAACP had been hoping to have a case in which they could file suit against the city of Montgomery over bus segregation. A woman had been arrested earlier that summer but had paid her fine without objection. "Hers certainly wasn't a good case for Mr. Nixon to appeal to a higher court. I knew they needed a plaintiff who was beyond reproach". And though she did not step-by-step plan her own arrest, she understood its greater implications.

Ms. Giovanni does not mention that Rosa Parks was more than just an everyday seamstress going home at the end of a workday. At one point she sees a man who "came frequently to the NAACP Youth Council affairs", but the book makes no mention that she herself was a member. To her credit, the author does make an after-the-fact statement of how Rosa wasn't physically tired. So there is that. But there are factual inaccuracies in this book that do not match Ms. Parks' own book. According to "Rosa", Jo Ann Robinson learned of the arrest when, "A sister member of the Women's Political Council approached her just as she reached the checkout lane". Ms. Robinson was indeed the president of this council but she was told of Ms. Park's arrest through Fred Gray, a black attorney. In "Rosa" the Women's Council is the only organization that comes up with the idea of the boycott. In reality much of the credit goes to the work of E.D. Nixon who mobilized support through the city's black ministers. "Rosa" mentions them later when the boycott has already been established and the NAACP, Women's Political Council, and churches decide on Martin Luther King Jr. as their spokesperson.

Okay, but then there's the writing itself. It's very odd, but for some reason the book makes a big big point out of how many of the women who contributed to the Civil Rights movement spent much of their time thinking about tending to their husbands. Right before the bus driver tells her to move the book says that Ms. Parks was, "daydreaming about her good day and planning her special meal for her husband". Two other times it says that she would surprise her husband with "meat loaf, his favorite" and that when she was paying her fare "she was smiling in anticipation of the nice dinner she would make". Now Ms. Giovanni, as it happens, knew Rosa Parks personally so we can assume that she got this information firsthand. It just struck me as a touch out of place. When Rosa got on that bus she recognized the bus driver as a particularly nasty fellow she'd dealt with in the past before. There was no daydreaming involved in her autobiography. Apparently such additions make for a better story though. When Jo Ann Robinson finds out about Rosa's arrest she "rushed home to put dinner on the table, cleaned up the kitchen, and put the kids to bed". Obviously these are all important things in their own way, but why were they included in this story? Is Ms. Giovanni trying to make a point that the women of the civil rights movement didn't abandon their families while they fought for justice? If so, why? It doesn't seem integral to the story. This is a book about Rosa Parks and the larger context of what she did.

And then there's the text. It's unfortunate but I kept getting annoyed at the book's writing style. At one point it says that "Rosa Parks was the best seamstress. The needle and thread flew through her hands like the gold spinning from Rumpelstiltskin's loom". Rumpelstiltskin's loom, eh? Rumpelstiltskin had a loom? I guess saying "spinning wheel" would have been redundant since she'd already said "spinning" and figured that few enough people know what looms are to complain. It's a petty complaint with the book, sure, but it rankles. In another case the book never mentions how Ms. Parks got out of jail. She goes to jail, sure. But you would think her release would be an important part of the story. For all that the kids reading this book know, Ms. Parks is still sitting inside that jail cell in Montgomery, Alabama.

After a second and third reading of the book I flipped to the back to see what books were included in "Rosa"'s bibliography. Obviously Ms. Giovanni wasn't working off of "Rosa Parks: My Story", so what books did she consult? From her friendship with Ms. Parks it must have been from one-on-one interviews since there isn't hide nor hair of a bibliography to be seen. You may say that it's a little silly of me to think there would be a bibliography in the back of a picture book, but I've read enough empowering and well-wrought picture book biographies that DID have bibliographies that I naturally assumed "Rosa" would too. No such luck.

So here's the dilemma. The book is about a true hero of the American people. Nobody but NOBODY contests that. The pictures in this book are drop-dead gorgeous too. Bryan Collier is a genius. Rosa Parks, however, deserved the best possible picture book biography. Instead she has a book about her that does not credit factual sources, includes details that do not fit, and holds back important information that children should learn. You want my advice? Read "Rosa Parks: My Story" (NOT the picture book one but the 192 page version), know the true facts of the case, then take "Rosa" and show the pictures to your kids while telling them the true tale. Criticizing anything that has to do with Rosa Parks is a dangerous activity. Ms. Giovanni's heart is in the right place. And, I will point out, this book garnered itself a coveted Caldecott, so what the heck do I know? For your consideration.

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful illustrations, writing is poorly done, November 29, 2005

By	Rachel D. Flachman "LJ & BJ's Mom" (Maple Grove, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book because I wanted something substantive for the little girls in my life who dream of being princesses... (really, how many tiara's does a four-year old really need?) I read the first few pages and was smitten with the illustrations. They are beautiful. Well done Mr. Collier. Since beautiful illustrations go far in this age range, I would give this book three stars.

The Rosa Parks story stands alone as one of substance. But this book falls short of providing a readable story for children. It doesn't flow as good writing should for any age group, but rather jumps around and tries to provide so much data, that it fails to actually tell a story about the great lady it was written to commemorate.

If you have enough history about the story and can tell it yourself to your children, the book may be worth buying for the illustrations alone. For my money, I would rather find something that is also a good read for my kids.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "...She was tired. Not tired from work, but tired of putting white people first...", April 26, 2006

By	Tilly - See all my reviews

I liked Ms. Giovanni's approach to telling this story. Given that it is a children's book, I appreciate that she looks at the humanity of Rosa Parks, (a woman with a life and a husband), rather than just her political role. I know that my kids will relate better to the story because of that.

Furthermore, Ms. Giovanni doesn't pretend that the events on the bus were an unforeseeable coincidence. I find the lead up to be both personal and portentous of things to come. It reads better as being opportunistic rather than engineered or manipulated and I don't think that she portrays Rosa as lacking intention. In fact, I imagine that Ms. Giovanni's source (as I have read) was her meeting with Rosa Parks herself. I expect that, in person, the truth of her story reaches a deeper personal level and Ms. Giovanni felt able to build on previously documented interpretations. Everyone has a voice and with the warm, expressive pictures, I find it an effective combination for children.