Module 12: Biography and Autobiography

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

Caldecott Honor Book 
Coretta Scott King Illustrator  Award
Illustrator Bryan Collier

Summary: Rosa tells a familiar story in a very unique way.  This story goes more into detail of Rosa Parks herself and the kind of person she was. A little known fact given in the story was that Rosa was part of the Women's Political Council. It  tells of how the women from that council moved into action  behind the scenes, while Rosa was in jail, in order to rally the people on her behalf.   Her action on the bus was spontaneous, but this book shows it was also the result of Rosa having had enough of the unfair laws against African Americans. 

My Impressions: I was surprised at all the new information I found out about Rosa Parks as I read the book.  I think children in third grade and up will enjoy this unique perspective in the story of Rosa Parks.

Reviews:

Author: Hazel Rochman 

Gr. 3-5. Far from the cliche of Rosa Parks as the tired little seamstress, this beautiful picture-book biography shows her as a strong woman, happy at home and at work, and politically aware ("not tired from work, but tired of ... eating at separate lunch counters and learning at separate schools"). Her refusal to give up her seat on a bus inspires her friend Jo Ann Robinson, president of the Women's Political Council, and the 25 council members to make posters calling for the bus boycott, and they organize a mass meeting where the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. speaks for them. Paired very effectively with Giovanni's passionate, direct words, Collier's large watercolor-and-collage illustrations depict Parks as an inspiring force that radiates golden light, and also as part of a dynamic activist community. In the unforgettable close-up that was used for the cover, Parks sits quietly waiting for the police as a white bus driver demands that she give up her seat. In contrast, the final picture opens out to four pages showing women, men, and children marching for equal rights at the bus boycott and in the years of struggle yet to come. The history comes clear in the astonishing combination of the personal and the political.--Hazel Rochman

Library Use: This story can be used in a study of women in politics or African American women during the Civil Rights Movement.
Resource list:
Giovanni, N. (2005).  Rosa. New York, NY:  Holt.

Rochman, H. (2005, June 1). Review of the book Rosa, by Nikki Giovanni. Booklist 101(19-20), 1797. Retrieved from Literature Resource Center. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA136770727&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w