Awards
Winner of The National Book Award for Young People's Literature 2009
Synopses & Reviews
“When it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. You cant sugarcoat it. You have to take a stand and say, ‘This is not right.” - Claudette Colvin On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South.
Based on extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure, skillfully weaving her dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery bus boycott and court case that would change the course of American history. Claudette Colvin is the 2009 National Book Award Winner for Young People's Literature and a 2010 Newbery Honor Book.
Synopsis
On March 2, 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. In her own words, Claudette gives a detailed look at segregated life in 1950s Memphis and the start of the civil rights movement.
Synopsis
Before Rosa Parks, there was 15-year-old Claudette Colvin. Now available in paperback: her National Book Award-wining story, told by the incomparable Phillip Hoose.
Synopsis
"Its my constitutional right!" screamed Claudette Colvin as she was dragged off a segregated city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, after refusing to give up her seat to a white woman. It was March 2, 1955—nine months before Rosa Parks took a similar stand. But instead of being celebrated as Parks was, Colvin was shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that did for transportation what Brown v. The Board of Education did for education.
Called "unforgettable" by The Wall Street Journal, this outstanding, ground-breaking account of an almost forgotten civil rights pioneer garnered praise and accolades, including a National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, and a Robert F. Sibert Book. As The New York Times said in a glowing review, Hoose "finally gives [Colvin] the credit she deserves."
About the Author
Phillip Hoose is an award-winning author of books, essays, stories, songs and articles. Although he first wrote for adults, he turned his attention to children and young adults in part to keep up with his own daughters. Claudette Colvin won a National Book Award and was dubbed a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2009. He is also the author of Hey, Little Ant, co-authored by his daughter, Hannah, Its Our World, Too!, The Race to Save the Lord God Bird, and We Were There, Too!, a National Book Award finalist. He has received a Jane Addams Childrens Book Award, a Christopher Award, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, among numerous honors. He was born in South Bend, Indiana, and grew up in the towns of South Bend, Angola, and Speedway, Indiana. He was educated at Indiana University and the Yale School of Forestry. He lives in Portland, Maine.