Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges, Margo Lundell (Editor)

From the Publisher

Ruby Bridges recounts the pivotal story of her involvement, as a six-year-old, in the 1960 integration of her school in New Orleans. Photos.

Children's Literature

Bridges tells her own story in remembering 1960, the year when, at the age of six, she walked through a raging crowd of segregationists to integrate a New Orleans school. Her writing is succinct and with her childhood perspective preserved, Bridges recounts the isolation that came from being the only black child in class, the caring of her teacher, her confusion at the angry crowds, the national publicity, portrayals by John Steinbeck and Norman Rockwell, and the courageous people who came forward to support her and change the course of history. Though Bridge's story takes center stage, the book is filled with powerful monochromatic photographs and the anecdotes of others who were part of her experience. 1999, Scholastic, Ages 9 up, $16.95. Reviewer: Susie Wilde

Library Journal

Gr 4-7-Profusely illustrated with sepia photos-including many gritty journalistic reproductions-this memoir brings some of the raw emotions of a tumultuous period into sharp focus. In her recounting of the events of 1960-61, the year she became the first African-American child to integrate the William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Bridges is true to her childhood memories. She is clear about what she remembers and what she later learned. Her account is accompanied by excerpts from newspaper articles, comments by her teacher, and a time line that fill in the details and place her story within the context of the Civil Rights Movement. The narrative draws a distinct contrast between the innocence of this six-year-old child who thought that "Two, four, six, eight, we don't want to integrate" was a jump-rope chant and the jeers of the angry crowd outside her school carrying a black doll in a coffin. A powerful personal narrative that every collection will want to own.-Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Bookbag Magazine - Bonnie Fowler

This eye-opening introduction to the civil rights movement, written on a child's level, is suitable for read-aloud and certain to provoke thoughtful discussion.

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