Claudette Colvin: I Want Freedom Now!

(Hardback)

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Civil rights icon Claudette Colvin teams up with Phillip Hoose-author of the Newbery Honor and National Book Award-winning blockbuster biography Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice-to tell her groundbreaking story in this unforgettable picture book illustrated by New York Times-bestselling artist Bea Jackson. Montgomery, Alabama 1955. Fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin is tired. Tired of white people thinking they're better than her. Tired of going to separate schools and separate bathrooms. Most of all, she's tired of having to give up her seat on the bus whenever a white person tells her to. She wants freedom NOW! But what can one teenager do On a bus ride home from school one day, young Claudette takes a stand for justice and refuses to get up from her seat-nine months before Rosa Parks will become famous for doing the same. What follows will not only transform Claudette's life but the course of history itself. In the words of Claudette Colvin herself, as told to acclaimed nonfiction writer Phillip Hoose, this empowering, heroic story illustrates how one simple act of courage can create real and lasting change.

Reviews

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"Vibrant illustrations from Jackson depict characters past and present with precision, from Colvin's act (which occurred nine months before Rosa Parks's protest) to the Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. It's a telling both personal and historical that reflects the urgency and determination of the civil rights movement via the perspective of one figure working urgently toward equality and justice." --Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

"The book benefits from Hoose's thorough knowledge of the era, his sure sense of which story elements will matter most to young people, and Colvin's personal but broadly pertinent memories of growing up Black in the segregated South and taking a stand against injustice. Illustrated with expressive figure drawings and deep, rich colors, this picture book brings Colvin's experiences to life for a new generation of children." --Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

"A Civil Rights activist who sat on a bus before Rosa Parks did and paid the price tells her story . . . As well as honoring her as one of the earliest and last-surviving Civil Rights pioneers, the book might well inspire readers to take up Hoose's closing suggestion to ask, 'Is there a little Claudette in me' Courageous acts, long undersung but well worth remembering." --Kirkus Reviews

Author Bio

Phillip Hoose is an award-winning author whose other works include the picture book Hey, Little Ant, and the middle-grade nonfiction books Duet; The Race to Save the Lord God Bird; The Boys Who Challenged Hitler; and We Were There, Too!, a National Book Award finalist. He lives in Portland, Maine. philliphoose.com Claudette Colvin is a civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat led to the Montgomery bus boycott and helped bring an end to segregation on busses throughout the South. Phillip and Claudette have been friends ever since he wrote a National Book Award-winning book about her for young adults, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. Bea Jackson is a character and concept artist and illustrator. In addition to her work that appears on book and comics covers and in magazines and articles, she has also created the artwork for numerous children's books, including Parker Looks Up, a New York Times bestseller and NAACP Award for Outstanding Children's Literary Work nominee, Parker Shines On, and Our Beautiful Colors. beagifted.com