Publishers Weekly
10/10/2022
In an autobiography told through a child’s eyes, Ruby Bridges (b. 1954) recounts her experience as the first Black child desegregating William Frantz Elementary School in 1960 New Orleans. External events mean little to six-year-old Bridges as she contemplates “how much I didn’t even like my name” and starts out “at a regular school with lots of other kids to play with.” But following Brown v. Board of Education, her parents’ choice of a school “with better opportunities” brings white federal marshals to the door as an escort. “Who told them I needed a ride to school anyway?” says Bridges, seemingly unaware of the context behind the moment. Viewing class pictures at school finally offers clarity for the child, who sees her experience as a good thing for all: “Who cares what colors we are?... School is just school and kids are just kids.” Smith’s vigorous digital brushwork portrays Ruby, in sharp relief against blurry backgrounds, as she celebrates being “the first.” Ages 4–8. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
Praise for I Am Ruby Bridges:
* "Any picture book collection tackling the Civil Rights Movement has to start here. Highly recommended for all shelves, this exemplary title for history and biography collections shows how the events of the world impact our youngest citizens." — School Library Journal, starred review
"A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era." — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Through My Eyes:
“Compelling.” — School Library Journal
“Bridges’s words, recalling a child's innocence and trust, are more vivid than even the best of the photos. Like poetry or prayer, they melt the heart.” — Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal
★ 08/12/2022
K-Gr 2—Autobiographies for young elementary students are a rare find. This jewel of a book, written by a Civil Rights icon and engagingly illustrated by Smith, transports young audiences to Bridges's own thinking and experience as she recalls her six-year-old self. As a child, Bridges was curious about so much and had a sense of what world events were going on around her. As narrator, Bridges does not break a child's perspective and keeps her voice true as she notices but doesn't explain the momentous change she was a part of. What mattered to her was going to school and making new friends. While there are many titles available that celebrate Bridges, this title soars with the voice of a hero recalling her own childhood and honoring the children who will read this story. VERDICT Any picture book collection tackling the Civil Rights Movement has to start here. Highly recommended for all shelves, this exemplary title for history and biography collections shows how the events of the world impact our youngest citizens.—John Scott
Kirkus Reviews
2022-06-22
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)
