boycott blues written by andrea davis pinkney and illustrated by brian pinkney

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Boycott Blues, Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York: HarperCollins Children's Books, 2008. ISBN: 9780060821197

Plot Summary:
     Rosa Parks was an African-American woman who encountered racism as she rode the bus home from a long day of work. After one long day of work, Rosa boarded a bus that was fairly crowded; however, there was one seat available in the area where people with skin darker than a brown paper bag were not allowed to sit. What do you do when you've been working all day? You sit down to enjoy your ride home and that's exactly what Rosa did. Her very action of sitting where she was not allowed to sit was followed by a long and enduring battle for equality.

Critical Analysis:
     Boycott Blues is a picture book that vividly tells the journey that men and women endured during the Montgomery bus boycott. The author, Andrea Davis Pinkney, provides her audience with a beautiful story that is told through a blues like tribute that also incorporates a bit of poetry. Pinkney sets the tone of this story with a narrator who begins describing a story that they're going to tell that "walks. And walks. And walks. To the blues." This introduction utilizes the structure of a three stanza poem. As the story begins, the author states that on December 1, 1955 Jim Crow flew in who pecked at Rosa Parks. This date aligns with the accurate date that of which Rosa Parks was arrested for sitting in the whites-only section. Andrea Davis Pinkney proceeds to detail the events that Rosa Parks and "the black people in town" endured as this was the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycotts. She continues to detail the events of how "the black people in town" protested riding the buses and walked three hundred days until Jim Crow was abolished. As she details the events, she also utilizes personification as she mentions Jim Crow. She takes the literal form of the word 'crow' and gives it human-like characteristics that align with the misery, inequality, and injustice that the Jim Crow laws caused.
     Along with a thorough and culturally authentic storyline, Andrea Davis Pinkney collaborates with her brother, Brian Pinkney, to illustrate and bring her story to life. Brian utilizes colored inks on clay board to illustrate this story. Bold hues of black, blue, yellow, and brown are used as the basis of his color scheme. He accurately portrays the color of "the black people in town" with skin tones of brown and with kinky black hair, as well as the driver of the bus with white skin. These subtle inclusions visually appeal to their audience while depicting cultural accuracy. The collaboration between the brother and sister author and illustrator vividly detail a time of injustice.
     
Review Excerpts:

"When a guitar-playing, blues-singing hound dog named Dog Tired talks about the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of 1955, he tells it in a steady rhythm of facts with a lot of soul. In this creative retelling of the events leading up to and following Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man, the Jim Crow laws separating people based on their skin color are personified as an aggressive, bony-winged black crow pecking and strutting. Dog Tired recounts Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech and admonition to fight for justice in a nonviolent way, to refuse to ride the buses until they received fair treatment. For nearly a year, the African American community, as well as other supporters, walked, rode bikes, and carpooled to their destinations. Then, in November, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled against segregation and required equal treatment for all people, regardless of their ethnicity. Vivid, motion-filled illustrations convey the menace of Jim Crow, the passion of Dr. King, and the hope of those who marched. The Pinkneys' inspiring collaboration effectively brings a challenging topic to young audiences. An author's note at the end of the book offers additional information on the Montgomery bus boycott, as well as a short bibliography of books for further exploration." - Children's Literature

"Color and movement are vibrant components in this extraordinary book about Rosa Parks's efforts to take down Jim Crow. Text and illustration work in perfect sync. Andrea Pinkney chose the rhythm of the blues as cadence for the guitar-strumming hound-dog narrator: "This story begins with shoes./This story is all for true./This story walks. And walks. And walks./To the blues." In riveting poetic style, the author relates how Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, AL, on December 1, 1955; her defiance brought about the boycott that changed this nation. The evocative text is bolstered by Brian Pinkney's perceptive vision: he portrays a swirling black mass, colored ink on clay board, to simulate a menacing bird-Jim Crow-that "pecks, pecks, pecks" its determination to undermine the movement. Jim Crow hovers menacingly over the bus and whirls above the beleaguered walkers, but the ever-present dog keeps belting out inspiring words, swinging his tune out over the people. Against electric blues and greens diffused with streaks of black line, Pinkney's artwork rivets the eye with the red of Parks's coat, the yellow of the city bus, and the sunrise red that signals the Supreme Court ruling to end segregation. Children unfamiliar with the historic events of the period will find the tale uplifting and memorable, and for librarians, teachers, and parents, this story will read aloud well, mesmerizing listeners." - School Library Journal 

Connections:
Customers who purchased this title also purchased the following titles: Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood up by Sitting Down, Sweet Smell of Roses, and January's Sparrow.

Interactivity:

• Ask children if they know about Jim Crow. If they are not familiar with these laws, ask them what they may think they were.
• After the reading of the story, re-seat children according to the color of their shirts and create a popular area where the children like to gather only for people with blue colored shirts. Afterwards, explain segregation and seek explanation on how the children who wore other colored shirts besides blue felt.
• Educate children on the importance of equality and standing up for what is right.