If a Bus Could Talk - by Faith Ringgold (Hardcover)

About the Book

From the viewpoint of a bus, Ringgold's touching, vibrant illustrations and gentle prose tell the story of Rosa Parks, an elderly black woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and encouraged others to stand up for freedom. Full-color illustrations.

Book Synopsis

From a Caldecott Honor Award and Coretta Scott King Award-winning illustrator comes a bright and offbeat picture book with a unique perspective on the story of Rosa Parks.

A young girl named Marcie has a magical bus ride where the bus itself tells her the story of the mother of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks. Because she was black, Rosa had to walk miles to a one-room schoolhouse while white children could take the bus, and as an adult, Rosa could only sit in the back.

But when the day came that Rosa refused to give up her seat, she helped set the wheels in motion for black people to sit where they wanted. Marcie learns all this and more then gets a special surprise at the end of her trip!

About the Author

Faith Ringgold grew up in Harlem, has a master's degree in education, and has taught art in New York City public schools. Deeply influenced by the Black Power movement, Faith developed an art style based on her African American heritage. She created a series of narrative quilts about the lives of black women, one of which inspired her first picture book, Tar Beach, winner of a Caldecott Honor Award and a Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration. She went on to publish several more acclaimed picture books, including Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky and My Dream of Martin Luther King. Faith Ringgold divides her time between New Jersey and Southern California.