Rosa
Written by: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrated by: Bryan Collier
Published by Scholastic, Inc. in NY in 2005
Genre: Biography (Multicultural Work)
Ages: Grades 3-5
Summary: This work details the story of Rosa Parks when she refused to give up her bus seat on day to white passengers. Upon getting on the bus, she realized that the black section was full, but that the neutral section had a few seats left, so she chose to sit there. The turmoil ensued when she was asked to move by the bus driver and refused. He threatened and did finally call the police and had Rosa arrested. A professor at Alabama State University herd of this and got together with some friends to make fliers telling black citizens to support Rosa by not riding the buses the next day. Rosa's strength and determination helped the Supreme Court rule that segregation was wrong.
Response: This work is a parcial biography in that it details only a portion of Rosa Park's life instead of delving into the details of her life overall. This work is also a picture book biography for young readers. The language used in it is fairly simple, so as to not be too difficult for the age for which it was intended.
The illustrator notes that he visited the setting of this work, Alabama, and noticed how hot it was in that location. He says that because of that many of his illustrations have yellow and dark hues to reflect that. His illustrating style in this work is a collaboration of collage and watercolor, which makes for very interesting illustrations. I found myself trying to determine which parts were watercolor and which were collage. Sometimes it was very easy to tell and other times it was much more difficult. These illustrations are double-page spreads. One of my favorite aspects of this book is the two pages that open when the people are walking to Washington. I certainly was not expecting that, but it shows a great progression in the text. I also really liked how the illustrator made use of the pages directly inside the book. HE put black and white illustrations of Rosa on the bus and the fliers the women made for her on these pages.
I think this work might be considered a fictionalized biography because it speaks of Rosa's thoughts during that day such as what she had planned to fix for supper that night and how men take up more room when they sit than women do. I doubt that Mrs. Parks would remember what she was thinking after the day she had. This element of looking closer into the life of Mrs. Parks, was a very interesting aspect of this work, however. It made hte readers feel a more close connection to Rosa.
Teaching Connections: I think perhaps the best ways to use this book in the classroom would be to either use it as the beginning of a lesson for black history month or to use it to have students do further research on people mentioned in the book. It might be interesting to have them research Jo Ann Robinson, for example.
Written by: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrated by: Bryan Collier
Published by Scholastic, Inc. in NY in 2005
Genre: Biography (Multicultural Work)
Ages: Grades 3-5
Summary: This work details the story of Rosa Parks when she refused to give up her bus seat on day to white passengers. Upon getting on the bus, she realized that the black section was full, but that the neutral section had a few seats left, so she chose to sit there. The turmoil ensued when she was asked to move by the bus driver and refused. He threatened and did finally call the police and had Rosa arrested. A professor at Alabama State University herd of this and got together with some friends to make fliers telling black citizens to support Rosa by not riding the buses the next day. Rosa's strength and determination helped the Supreme Court rule that segregation was wrong.
Response: This work is a parcial biography in that it details only a portion of Rosa Park's life instead of delving into the details of her life overall. This work is also a picture book biography for young readers. The language used in it is fairly simple, so as to not be too difficult for the age for which it was intended.
The illustrator notes that he visited the setting of this work, Alabama, and noticed how hot it was in that location. He says that because of that many of his illustrations have yellow and dark hues to reflect that. His illustrating style in this work is a collaboration of collage and watercolor, which makes for very interesting illustrations. I found myself trying to determine which parts were watercolor and which were collage. Sometimes it was very easy to tell and other times it was much more difficult. These illustrations are double-page spreads. One of my favorite aspects of this book is the two pages that open when the people are walking to Washington. I certainly was not expecting that, but it shows a great progression in the text. I also really liked how the illustrator made use of the pages directly inside the book. HE put black and white illustrations of Rosa on the bus and the fliers the women made for her on these pages.
I think this work might be considered a fictionalized biography because it speaks of Rosa's thoughts during that day such as what she had planned to fix for supper that night and how men take up more room when they sit than women do. I doubt that Mrs. Parks would remember what she was thinking after the day she had. This element of looking closer into the life of Mrs. Parks, was a very interesting aspect of this work, however. It made hte readers feel a more close connection to Rosa.
Teaching Connections: I think perhaps the best ways to use this book in the classroom would be to either use it as the beginning of a lesson for black history month or to use it to have students do further research on people mentioned in the book. It might be interesting to have them research Jo Ann Robinson, for example.
(Image retrieved from http://www.lookingglassreview.com/assets/images/Rosa.jpg on 5 April 2008)
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