A Sweet Smell of Roses

Although many assume that politics is an adult affair, the reality is that children are often intimately concerned with political matters, both because they are effected by them, and because they are interested in them. Certainly, as the daughter of politically aware and active parents, I myself grew up surrounded by discussions of everything from the latest elections to the controversies surrounding my father's organization to help the homeless in our area (very unpopular with our mayor, apparently). I vividly recall, moreover, a lunchtime conversation I once had with a co-worker - an African-American woman originally from Georgia - about how she snuck out of her house, as a young girl, and defied her fearful mother's prohibition on show more her attending a local Civil Rights event, in order to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak. "I just had to go," she told me, "there was a feeling in me, that I had to be there."

I was strongly reminded of that lunchtime discussion, and of my own childhood and adolescent experiences (my very first protest march, at age twelve, was called by the NAACP), by A Sweet Smell of Roses, a picture-book tribute to the many unnamed children who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. A simple text follows the narrator and her younger sister Minnie as they slip out of their home, in order to participate in a march led by King, while the black and white illustrations - relived in each scene by one red element, be it the flag, or a teddy-bear's ribbon - beautifully capture each moment of the story. An outstanding book, one which captures the child's role in an important movement in American history, this is also just a beautiful work of art. The illustrations, done by Eric Velasquez in charcoal, are simple stunning! Highly recommended, to all child activists out there (and there are many of them!), and to young readers interested in the Civil Rights Movement, and the role of children in that movement. show less

A Sweet Smell of Roses takes into the shoes of two young girls as they join Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to march for freedom. The book begins early in the morning and ends in the afternoon, following the girls from front porch through the market to the march and back. The black and white charcoal drawings are highlighted with a few punches of red, the bow on a bear on of the girls holds, then again on the stripes of the American Flag, and finally on roses in the window.

That red bow seemed to say something about the youth as an important and maybe underrepresented part of the Civil Rights Movement. All throughout the story, the sweet smell of roses lingers, associating it with the idea of freedom, equality, and non-violence. This book is show more a reminder to me of the roles that many unnamed people and children played in the Civil Rights movement. show less

Two sisters sneak out of their house to join in a March led by Dr. King. Angela Johnson's poetic words and Velasquez's charcoal illustrations transport you to the civil rights era. Velasquez does not use any color except for the red in the teddy bears ribbon, the flag, and the roses. I thought his illustrations were very powerful without needing color. This story is unique because you get a peak into this period of time through the eyes of a child. They march through town with their head held high, listening to the words of Dr. King. After the march they return home to their worried mother, almost unaware of the mark they just made on history.

"There is a sweet smell of roses as we all gather in the center of town. All together. All here. Listening to Dr. King as the sun gets higher in the sky..." The world is changing and our main character and her sister want to watch it move. The revival Dr. King began is in full effect and her Mama is worried about the outcome.

I enjoyed this book because it brought a sweet side to a very difficult time period.

Many times we think of political acts and legal movements as an adult manner but this book allows readers to view it from the perspective of a child. Here we see the effects discrimination had on children of the time. The girl and her sister sneak out of the house while their mother is sleeping in order to go to the protest of Dr.King. This book emphasizes his impact with speeches and marches and the girls in the book describe it as the smell of roses This language is portrayed through the small illustrations of red on every page until the bush of roses towards the end. The conflict provides empathy for characters emotions with people shouting back "You are not right, equality cannot be yours." This book although informational relates show more on a children's level of understanding the problems segregation and discrimination caused through the story of the girls. show less

In my opinion, this was a very well written children’s book that expressed what it was like for children during the civil rights movement. Johnson said a wonderful job of really describing the setting, including what the little girl could smell. Although, the main character was fictitious, we were able to learn about Martin Luther King Jr. and other aspects of the civil rights movement. Although most readers weren’t present for the events talked about in the story, it was so powerful to be able to imagine what it may have been like for us if we were there. We can compare and contrast our emotions and experiences to those of Minnie and her sister. In addition, the color of the picture had such a powerful effect on the story. The show more images were black and white with spots of red which emphasized the objects that represented freedom. show less

The plot of this story is very simple Two little girls sneak out of the house, participate in a freedom march, and then return home safely. But the book really tells a story deeper than that. It shows how as we go through life we never know who's watching us. There were times in the book where the girls would mimic the moves of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I thought it was beautiful to see. For the girls to know they wanted to be apart of a huge movement and be apart of a crowd of people who were trying to make a difference, it was inspirational.