THE YEAR THEY WALKED

The title accurately reflects the focus of this volume: the 13 months beginning with Parks's refusal to give up her seat and concluding with the Supreme Court's decision declaring bus segregation unconstitutional. Siegel manages to include dense amounts of background material on those involved and the events preceding the boycott; even so, oversimplification sometimes obscures meaning. Young readers will have to infer that Jo Ann Robinson is an African-American in order to understand the humiliating incident that cemented her resolve toward seeking changes; and they will have to figure out for themselves why the pregnancy of Claudette Colvin prevented her arrest from becoming a test case. There are problems of terminology as well: ``African-American'' doesn't appear until well into the book; also, declaring that the ``black leadership outwitted city officials'' implies a stereotypical guile apt to be misunderstood at this age level. An easily read account of these compelling events, but Parks's own book (Rosa Parks: My Story, p. 1597) is a better choice. Bibliography; index and b&w photos not seen. (Nonfiction. 11+)