Ruby, a little black girl, starts a new school by declaration of the desegregation law. This would not be a big deal if this happened now but since in the 1960's in Louisiana it was a big deal. All the white people stood in a mob outside the school yelling at poor Ruby. The other students stopped coming to school. Ruby seemed fine. For weeks this happened, her teacher wondered how she could be so calm about all this. Ruby admitted she prayed for the people who yelled at her everyday. Eventually, parents realized how ridiculous not sending their children to school was. So the children came back. it shows a different ethnicity doing something positive. That alone should be really inspirational for children. The pictures are pretty but they do not really add or take away from the story. The book is definitely worthy of a collection. Definitely worth reading for any age.
BIBLIO:1995, Scholastic Books, Ages 4-8, $5.99
REVIEWER: Kimberly Bowman
FORMAT: Picture book biography
ISBN: 0-439-59844-3