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RUBY BRIDGES

A TALK WITH MY TEACHER

A child-friendly exploration of a landmark moment in civil rights history.

Activist Bridges shares her memories of the elementary teacher who taught her when no one else would.

Young Ruby’s looking forward to the beginning of second grade. Last year, in 1960, she became the first Black student to attend William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans; because so many parents pulled their children out of school in protest, she was the only child in her class. She’s excited about recent changes at school: This year, she’s no longer the only Black student, and she has classmates, too. But her teacher, Mrs. Henry, is nowhere to be found; Ruby has a new teacher and classroom. For 35 long years, Ruby wonders what happened to Mrs. Henry and harbors questions about her experiences. When her work as a published author makes a reunion with Mrs. Henry possible, she finally gets answers to her many questions. Though somewhat dry and a bit clunky in places, the text offers a comprehensible account of integration and the impact it had on Bridges. Softly hued digital illustrations capture Bridges’ confusion as she searches for Mrs. Henry in the school halls. The book ends with an author’s note in which Bridges expresses her hope that her memories will inspire a greater appreciation of teachers; she also includes a glossary of famous educators, which feels a bit tacked on.

A child-friendly exploration of a landmark moment in civil rights history. (Picture-book memoir. 5-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025

ISBN: 9781338753943

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024

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I AM RUBY BRIDGES

A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.

The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.

Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022

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BASKETBALL DREAMS

Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.

An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.

In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022

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