The Story of Ruby Bridges

Author: Robert Coles
Copyright Date: 1995
Publisher: Scholastic
Number of Pages: 32
Reading Level: Ages 5 & Up
Genre: Non-fiction, Biography, Informational

Summary
"The Story of Ruby Bridges" is the inspiring story of a girl and her family who move to New Orleans. They were a poor family, her parents worked hard, and every week they went to church. Ruby and her family were black, and when they moved to New Orleans schools separated black and white children. In 1960 a judge ordered four black girls to attend white public schools. Three of the girls went to one school, while Ruby Bridges went to the William Frantz Elementary School--alone.

On her first day of school, there was an angry mob outside the doors, trying to keep her out. They didn't want black children to attend their school. To protect Ruby and to get her into the school safely, the President of the U.S. had federal marshals escort her inside. For a long time, Ruby was the only student in her class, and in the entire school. Mobs continued to wait outside trying to keep her out and the marshals still walked her safely inside. She worked one-on-one with her teacher, and was always relaxed and enjoyable in class. One day, she stopped in the crowd and her teacher, Mrs. Henry, saw her lips moving. When Ruby came to class, Mrs. Henry asked her what she told the crowd. She responded by saying that she wasn't speaking to the crowd, she was praying for them. The book ends with her walking on her way home, praying for the mob.

In an "Afterword" note, Coles writes about how eventually, white students began to go back to school. People realized that they were letting their children be "cheated out of an education" and that there were more important things than race. "The Story of Ruby Bridges" is based off of the true, real-life experiences of Ruby Bridges.

Although this book is a biography, it has incredible illustrations. They're fairly detailed, full of color, and just plain beautiful.

Reaction
This book is absolutely fantastic. It is inspiring and touching. It made me think about what's really important, made me feel humble, and left me feeling grateful for all of the blessings I have. The strength and determination of a young girl is one that we can all learn a lesson from.
Recommendations
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Like I've said before, it's truly inspiring and I think we can all learn a good lesson from this book.

Problems/Conflicts
The only problem that I saw is the fact that they discriminate against Ruby.