Liberty's Civil Rights Road Trip
-
- £8.99
-
- £8.99
Publisher Description
Time to board the bus! Liberty and her friend Abdullah, with their families and a diverse group of passengers, head off to their first stop: Jackson, Mississippi. Next on their map are Glendora, Memphis, Birmingham, Montgomery, and finally Selma, for a march across the iconic Edmund Pettus Bridge.
As told through the innocent view of a child, Liberty's Civil Rights Road Trip serves as an early introduction to places, people, and events that transformed history. The story is inspired by an actual journey led by author Michael W. Waters, bringing together a multigenerational group to witness key locations from the civil rights movement. An author's note and more information about each stop on Liberty's trip offer ways for adults to expand the conversation with young readers.
A portion of the publisher's sales proceeds will be donated to Foot Soldiers Park in Selma, Alabama, a nonprofit dedicated to honoring the history and continued relevance of the Selma movement.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Inspired by a civil rights pilgrimage for faith leaders that the author led commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, this picture book follows the author's young Black daughter Liberty and her light brown–skinned Muslim best friend Abdullah, both of whom attended the real trip through sites in the U.S. South. From the third-person perspective, Waters focuses on Liberty's viewpoint and emotions at each stop, in particular, an author's note clarifies, how she "turned these harrowing spaces into hopeful ones": "Even though the Lorraine Motel was a serious place, Liberty imagined that Dr. King had liked to laugh, just like her dad." Tadgell illustrates an interfaith tour group of varying abilities, ages, sizes, and skin tones in soft washes of watercolor; small inserts feature the historical figures mentioned. An accessible, anecdotal introduction to pivotal civil rights events and luminaries. Back matter includes an author's note and supplementary information. Ages 3–7.
