Description:
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus. This simple act of defiance spurred African American residents' 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system and arguably fueled the civil rights movement itself. For the last 40 years, Rosa Parks has received thousands and thousands of letters, most of them from children. This elegantly designed book contains a diverse selection of these letters on topics ranging from hope to O.J. Simpson, and Parks's replies are simple, sometimes poignant, but always reassuring. The first letter from a child in Oakland, California, begins, "I am sorry that you went to jail because you did not give in to the system. Mrs. Parks, please try and stop the violence and the killing, because where I live lots of people get taken out (killed). "With her thoughtful answers to this ("Life should not be taken for granted") and other letters, Rosa Parks continues her legacy of challenging us to become a force for positive change. Children will be inspired and soothed by the words of this remarkable woman. (Ages 8 and older)
| 
