Back of the Bus

A brief summary:
It’s December of 1955 and a little boy and his mother are riding the public bus down Cleveland Ave in Montgomery, Alabama. The little boy and his mother are sitting in the back of the bus – exactly where they are suppose to sit. The little boy takes a marble out of his pocket and rolls it down the aisle of the bus, until a woman in the front of the bus snatches the marble off the floor. The boy recognizes the woman as Mrs. Parks, and she gives him a wink and lets the marble go, rolling on the floor on its way back to the boy. As the bus comes to a stop, there appears to be a problem on the bus. The bus driver tells the people that they need to move, but it appears someone is talking back to him and the bus driver show more threatens to call the police. The little boy waits silently in the back, playing with his marble although his mom tells him to put it away. As everyone stares angrily at the back of the bus, the little boy can’t help but think they have done something wrong. Then the little boy notices who is sitting in the front of the bus – it’s Mrs. Parks. Mrs. Parks is sitting in the front of the bus, but everyone, including herself, knows she isn’t supposed to be. Mrs. Park’s is confronted by the police but refuses to leave her spot. The boy watches as the police officer takes Mrs. Parks away in handcuffs. He is worried that they are going to be in trouble, but his mother reassures him that it will all be forgotten by the next day. The little boy doesn’t feel this however, and instead feels a new sense of strength as he takes out the marble that once had to hide but doesn’t have to anymore.

My personal reaction:
By using the point of view of a young boy, this book gives a different perspective on the Rosa Parks bus boycott. This different perspective causes the reader to contemplate how this incident may have affected not only those around Parks, but specifically young children who identified with Parks. Young children today can more easily understand this event through the boy's shoes and in turn learn about the event that was a major part of the Civil Rights Movement.

A couple of uses:
- Use this book for a class read aloud and lead a discussion about the implications of Mrs. Parks actions and how they were received by those around her.
- Use this book as a unit opener and read aloud to the class before having the class begin research on the life of Rosa Parks.

Genre:
This book falls under the category of historical fiction, but more specifically biographical fiction. I would consider it to be biographical because it contains some factual elements on the life of Rosa Parks. The fictional aspect comes in as the book portrays this information from the perspective of a fictional boy who is witnessing Parks from the "Back of the Bus." This book is a good example of biographical fiction because it is able to take a widely known woman of history, Rosa Parks, and present a piece of her story in a way that young children may find easier to relate to. A young student may already be able to understand the implications of Parks actions on the bus, but by viewing the incident from the point of view of a young boy, the student is able to understand it on another level.

Media:
oil color show less

"Back of the Bus" tells the story of Rosa Parks refusing to move to the back of the bus, but from the perspective of a young boy who is confused about what is going on. I really liked the perspective this story took. I have heard and read about the story of Rosa Parks many times, but never from the perspective of a young boy. In a part of the story, he says "Somebody's talkin' back, but I can't hear the words" and another part he asks his mother if they are doing something wrong. It makes the reader feel as if they were there as a young child trying to grasp the seriousness of what it is happening. Also, I really enjoyed the language of the story; the author used similes to help the reader paint a picture in their mind of the feelings show more and ideas in the story. For example, the boy describes Rosa Parks as she remains in her seat by saying "her eyes all fierce like a lightnin' storm." This imagery helps to capture how strong and powerful Rosa looked and felt sitting in her seat. Overall, I think the theme is segregation, yet hope for change of that segregation. At the end of the story, the boy holds up his marble that has been hiding in his pocket and allows it to shine in the light, which resembles the way Rosa Parks is shining of strength and no longer hides her feelings from the back of the bus. show less

"Back of The Bus" tells a beautiful about Rosa Parks from a young black boy's perspective. The story was very touching and gave great detail about segregation and how white people have the right of way to seats on the bus. The book showed Rosa Parks getting arrested as it happened in real life and how the little boy felt about what was happening. In the story, he also has a marble that he's playing with and the marble seems to align with the story. He has to hide the marble for a while, but then he gets to take the marble out and the marble seems to shine and be happy because it doesn't have to hide anymore. The young boy compared himself to the how the marble felt as he felt strong and happy as if he didn't have to hide anymore because show more Rosa Parks was standing up for the people of color. This book was truly inspiring and just brought positive vibes. I would love to read this book to my class whether it be during a lesson about segregation or just a good book to read showing diversity. show less

One day, a young boy and his mother ride a bus in 1955 Alabama. They ride at the back of the bus, where they are required to due to segregation laws. The bus stops to pick up more passengers, but is remains stopped. The boy asks his mother why the bus is not moving. He finally notices that Mrs. Parks is at the front of the bus, where she doesn't belong. The police have to come, and the young boy watches as Mrs. Parks is taken off to jail.
This is a very powerful children's book. The story is about a historic event when Rosa Parks would not move to the back of the bus. It is a very interesting story, as it is seen from the point of view of the young child. The setting is the 1950's segregated south and the theme is surely about the show more movement to equality. The strength of the message this book conveys is sure to give young children an early perspective into equality. This is a book all children should get to read, and if I was a teacher, I would read this to my class. This book is a great one because it is an adult subject about an adult problem, but it is appropriate for children because it is seen and told through the eyes of a child. show less

Standing up for your rights can resolve more problems than hiding in the background. This book had a very powerful message, whether the main character realized it or not. I liked this story for several reasons. Structurally, the writing had a nice flow, almost as if reading a poem. The language used was relevant to the time period, as well as sounding like it was spoken from a child. When the boy referred to the “big ol’ bus, or compared the people on the bus to crammed lima beans, a certain voice was set. The voice was innocent, and imaginative. I also liked the common recurring reference of a “strong chin.” This reference appeared several times throughout the book, and each time was as significant as the last. The boy learned show more a lesson at the end of the story about his rights, but took that lesson and connected it back to his marble. Children who read can make their own inferences about the lesson being taught, without being formally told. show less

Most children know who Rosa Parks is and her inspirational story. Back of the Bus is told from the perspective of a young boy who was sitting at the back of the bus with his mother the day Rosa Parks gets arrested for refusing to give up her seat. The boy notices Rosa Parks's expression and describes it at "fierce". He also describes her as having "lightnin' -storm eyes" and having on her "strong chin". At the end of the story the boy's mother holds him telling him everything will be alright and that everything will be forgotten tomorrow but the boy knows that is not true. I love how the boy compares his mother to Rosa Parks, describing their similar qualities. He describes his mother as "having a strong chin" as well. He also uses show more phrases to describe emotions. The boy has a marble which is used as a metaphor. He is playing with but hides it once he realizes something is wrong. At the end of the story he takes the marble back out and holds it up to the sun and says "it's smilin', I think, 'cuz it ain't gotta hide no more." show less

From the minute I opened this book, before reading a single word I noticed the magnificent, extraordinary illustrations jumping right into the setting of 1955 during the civil rights movement. The story is written so perfectly for children as it teaches students about a significant event in history, but they do it through the eyes of a child. Instead of just telling the story of Rosa Parks, they put another perspective in, a by-stander to the whole situation who may or may not have been there, but that is up for the reader to decide. This allows for children to picture themselves there at that moment in time when Rosa Parks would not give up her seat.