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Rookie Biography
Rosa Parks
A short biography of the famous civil rights figure and her work.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Wil Mara
262 books61 followersWil Mara has worked as an author for over 34 years and currently has more than 325 books in print. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, for children and adults. His books have won multiple awards, reached bestseller lists, earned excellent reviews, and been translated into more than a dozen languages. 2005’s Wave won the New Jersey Notable Book Award, and 2012’s The Gemini Virus remained on Amazon’s list of ‘Ten Bestseller Medical Thrillers’ for 14 consecutive weeks. The most recent novel in his disaster series, Fallout, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Novel of the Year. And his children’s nonfiction publications have won countless awards and terrific reviews in all the leading trade journals, including Booklist, School Library Journal, Kirkus, and others.
Much of his work for children has been nonfiction for the school-library market. He also ghostwrote five of the popular ‘Boxcar Children’ mysteries. And starting in 2019, Rosen Publishing released the first of his new ‘Twisted’ series, which has been described as “Twilight Zones for kids.” It became the most pre-ordered fiction series in the company’s history. The first ‘Twisted’ book, The Videomaniac, was released on January 1 and sold through its first printing in less than a month. The second, House of a Million Rooms, was released on March 1 and, just a few weeks later, was chosen as a Main Selection Title by the Junior Library Guild.
Wil was also an editor, administrator, and executive inside the industry for over 20 years, working for such houses as Scholastic, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Prentice-Hall until turning to fulltime writing in 2005. He is an associate member of the NJASL and an executive member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Center for the Book, which is an affiliate of the US Library of Congress. He is also the vice president of the Literary Alliance of New Jersey, the host of the ‘Voice of American Libraries’ podcast, and the 2019 recipient of the Literary Lion of New Jersey Award, whose past winners include Gus Friedrich, Dean Emeritus of Rutgers University, and Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Wil is also an experienced speaker, presenter, and voice artist, having visited more than 300 schools and other institutions, and done the audio readings for many books, including his 2012 thriller The Gemini Virus. He continues to speak to audiences across the country (including via video) and do voice work as his writing schedule permits.
Much of his work for children has been nonfiction for the school-library market. He also ghostwrote five of the popular ‘Boxcar Children’ mysteries. And starting in 2019, Rosen Publishing released the first of his new ‘Twisted’ series, which has been described as “Twilight Zones for kids.” It became the most pre-ordered fiction series in the company’s history. The first ‘Twisted’ book, The Videomaniac, was released on January 1 and sold through its first printing in less than a month. The second, House of a Million Rooms, was released on March 1 and, just a few weeks later, was chosen as a Main Selection Title by the Junior Library Guild.
Wil was also an editor, administrator, and executive inside the industry for over 20 years, working for such houses as Scholastic, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Prentice-Hall until turning to fulltime writing in 2005. He is an associate member of the NJASL and an executive member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Center for the Book, which is an affiliate of the US Library of Congress. He is also the vice president of the Literary Alliance of New Jersey, the host of the ‘Voice of American Libraries’ podcast, and the 2019 recipient of the Literary Lion of New Jersey Award, whose past winners include Gus Friedrich, Dean Emeritus of Rutgers University, and Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Wil is also an experienced speaker, presenter, and voice artist, having visited more than 300 schools and other institutions, and done the audio readings for many books, including his 2012 thriller The Gemini Virus. He continues to speak to audiences across the country (including via video) and do voice work as his writing schedule permits.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 21, 2018
Genre: Nonfiction (biography)
Date: 11-21
Grade Range: K-4
This book is a very simple read. It tells who Rosa Parks is and what she did to change the laws against African Americans. It is a very simple introduction to the civil rights movement. It contained the basic information needed.
Date: 11-21
Grade Range: K-4
This book is a very simple read. It tells who Rosa Parks is and what she did to change the laws against African Americans. It is a very simple introduction to the civil rights movement. It contained the basic information needed.
May 1, 2016
'Rosa Parks' by Wil Mara is a biography of the civil rights activist Rosa Parks and the history of her life. Biographies are very interesting to young readers. It Includes an index and a Words You Know section that demonstrates terms from the text and illustrates them with photographs. The book is filled with photographs at various ages and stages throughout her life. This book is recommended for students in the grades k-4th.
February 4, 2019
I liked this book. It is relatively short, which is a good thing for the age group I will be reading this with, but it gives more details than other books I've looked at on the subject, such as Rosa Parks: Activist for Equality by Grace Hansen. I especially liked that this book plainly stated how long the bus boycott lasted! I will be incorporating this book into my lesson plan for Rosa Parks Day.
October 26, 2013
DRA: 20-24
The book tells the story about Rosa Parks contribution to end segregation. It also explains concepts of segregation in accessible language to children. It mentions Rosa’s childhood attending segregated schools. In addition, it explores how Rosa stood up for herself when she did not want to give up her seat in the bus in November of 1956, as well as the consequences of that act.
The book tells the story about Rosa Parks contribution to end segregation. It also explains concepts of segregation in accessible language to children. It mentions Rosa’s childhood attending segregated schools. In addition, it explores how Rosa stood up for herself when she did not want to give up her seat in the bus in November of 1956, as well as the consequences of that act.
February 23, 2008
The life of civil rights activist Rosa Parks is discussed in this newly-revised title from Scholastic’s Rookie Biography series. Historical photos and straightforward, simple sentences provide very young readers with an accessible introduction to biographies and Parks’ life.
November 23, 2016
Grades K-2
Young reads will learn about the life of Rosa Parks, a women who took a stand against injustice and helped gain equal rights for African Americans. I think this book breaks the information down to the mean point so the young reader understands.
Young reads will learn about the life of Rosa Parks, a women who took a stand against injustice and helped gain equal rights for African Americans. I think this book breaks the information down to the mean point so the young reader understands.
January 31, 2015
Excellent overview for very young readers. This seems like a great series for kids who are just "graduating" from picture books and the earliest Easy Readers.
February 18, 2016
This is the exact same book as the other by Wil Mara. It just has a different cover.
July 1, 2016
This is a very nice, age-appropriate biography for younger kids.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews