A Bus of Our Own

by Freddi Williams Evans, Shawn Costello (Illustrations)

Although she really wants to go to school, walking the five miles is very difficult for Mabel Jean and the other black children, so she tries to find a way to get a bus for them the same as the white children have.

Genres: Picture Books, History

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Freddi Williams Evans is author of Come Sunday: A Young Reader’s History of Congo Square and Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans.

Reviews

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an AWESOME book. I read my autographed copy. Now I want a new copy to read to little ones who haven’t heard this story based on facts, and I want to make sure this book is stored in a safe pace with all my gems. Most importantly, this story is in my heart. The fact that African-Americans were segregated and treated less than human is true and will not be erased in our history. My ancestors told me different facts (not stories) about being segregated against including being spit on while they walked to school. This was an AWESOME book.

[Kenton Embrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story had more to do than just a want for a bus for school. This story ventured into the very context of civil rights during the civil rights movement we only hear about from the stories we are told from our elders or from our schools. This book, was great for it allows kids to understand the just of the civil rights movement, without going to in def about the specific events that took place during it.

[Veronica Molina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, directo y bonito. Una fotografía de cómo funcionaban las cosas estilo "apartheid", y podría haber pasado en más de un continente. Una demostración del esfuerzo, y un llamado a reflexionar sobre el racismo.
Muy recomendable. Es cortito, y da para mucho tema de conversación. Además, tiene ilustraciones muy lindas.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving story about a girl’s desire to ride to school on a bus instead of walking. The illustrations are true to life, you can even see the tears in Mable-Jean’s eyes. Having recently read this with a year one class I am now very familiar with the book that tells a fantastic, in-depth story about racial history. The story of Mable-Jean and her adventures in getting ‘a bus of her own’ were soaked up by the majority of the class; although the children had little understanding of the racial connotation, just that “the girl didn’t have any friends”. Because of this I would recommend this book to a slightly older audience – upper key stage 1 perhaps. Even though the book is set in the 1940s, we were able to share the victory of the Civil Rights Movement and the children have a basic understanding of how times have changed.

The story clearly maps out Mable-Jean’s journey and uses emotional language which young children are able to relate to (e.g. happy and sad). My Year 1’s were able to draw their own map of the story using photos and short sentences describing the story. Following this they requested to play some drama games surrounding it and to have more copies of the book in the book corner so they clearly enjoyed it! The story left us with a feeling of satisfaction as Mable-Jean succeeds in getting a new bus. I’ll be looking for other stories written by this author.

[Angela Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ages: 4th – 6th grade

Evans uses oil painting to create the illustrations in this book. The illustrations reflect the story being told. The text is based on real events with the characters communication with each other rather than a story being told. Students will enjoy the realistic illustrations and similar experiences described in the book

History/Science

Lesson Idea: Students will investigate other historical events that occurred in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

teaches about ambition and perseverance.