A Picture Book of Rosa Parks

December 1, 1993
Gr 2-4-Adler presents a biographical account of the longtime and committed civil-rights activist, whose role in initiating the Montgomery bus boycott was but one aspect. He also brings in other issues, such as school desegregation and the presence of the Ku Klux Klan. While these inclusions diffuse his focus, they also give young readers background on the time and the movement in which she participated. Brief notes offer additional information about Tuskeegee Institute, located near Parks's birthplace, and Thurgood Marshall, who successfully argued the Brown v. Board of Education desegregation case before the Supreme Court. Casilla's illustrations are realistic and useful, though somewhat static and lacking in excitement. The text also tends toward dryness. Still, Adler's sensitive writing and broad perspective on his subject's life make this a useful source for young children.-Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Siena College Library, Loudonville, NY

October 15, 1993
Gr. 2-4. In this volume of his fine Picture Book Biography series for younger readers, Adler sets the life story of Rosa Parks within the history of the civil-rights movement. The simple narrative text and the dramatic color illustrations show the discrimination that was common when Parks was growing up: one double-page spread depicts the insult of separate water fountains; another shows the Ku Klux Klan terror with flaming torches. Then there's the crucial confrontation in 1955 when Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger. How her brave act started the Montgomery bus boycott led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is stirring history. In addition to the sweeping political scenes, there are portraits by Casilla that capture the ordinary person who made a difference. ((Reviewed Oct. 15, 1993))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1993, American Library Association.)