Rosa Refused

Rosa

Written by: Nikki Giovanni

Illustrated by: Bryan Collier

Henry Holt and Company, 2005

40 pages

Nonfiction

Rosa Parks was just Rosa Parks until one word was spoken: no. Rosa, along with the rest of her community were tired of segregation and wanted no part of it. On this particular day described in the book, Rosa got her job done early and was excited to get home and surprise her husband with meatloaf. She gives her dime to the bus driver and walks to the back where the "colored" had to sit/stand. All seats were taken there, so she went and sat in the neutral section where both races were allowed to sit. When approached by the bus driver to give up her seat so a white person could sit down, Rosa refused.

The artist used watercolor and collage to bring the illustrations to life. The illustrations are boldly colorful. The characters are very life-like and real. The texture seems soft with a little grit. Facial expressions and body languages are illustrated well; you can read every emotion. 

I chose Social Studies as my subject and fourth grade as my level. I would have my students study on Rosa Park's story for a couple of days and I would have them re-enact it in class. I would have them do this to obtain a better understanding of how big of a deal this action was and how real it was.