Sit-Ins and Freedom Rides: The Power of Nonviolent Resistance

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-These large-print, easy-to-read books do a fine job of making the turbulent civil rights era accessible to young readers. Striking sepia-toned photographs illustrate each page of text. The pictures themselves tell a compelling story. The images in the first book show men, women, and children marching for the right to vote, at times triumphant and other times beaten-literally. Bus Boycott features up-close photographs of Rosa Parks, empty buses, marchers, bombed buildings, and, finally, Martin Luther King, Jr. sitting alongside a white man on a bus. The final title depicts the courageous student sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in Greensboro, NC, and the efforts of the Freedom Riders who encountered violence during a journey from Washington, DC, to New Orleans in an attempt to desegregate long-distance buses. The photos and matter-of-fact narrative make clear the incredible sacrifices it took to change unfair laws.-Ajoke' T. I. Kokodoko, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.