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Because Claudette

Illustrated by Tonya Engel
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Hardcover
$18.99 US
On sale Feb 01, 2022 | 32 Pages | 978-0-593-32640-4
From NYT bestselling author Tracey Baptiste comes a singular picture book that is both a biography about Claudette Colvin, the teen whose activism launched the Montgomery bus boycott, and a celebration of collective action.

When fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin boarded a segregated bus on March 2, 1955, she had no idea she was about to make history. At school she was learning about abolitionists like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, which helped inspire her decision to refuse to give up her seat to a white woman, which led to her arrest, which began a crucial chain of events: Rosa Park's sit-in nine months later, the organization of the Montgomery bus boycott by activists like Professor Jo Ann Robinson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Supreme Court decision that Alabama's bus segregation was unconstitutional—a major triumph for the civil rights movement.

Because of Claudette's brave stand against injustice, history was transformed. Now it's time for young readers to learn about this living legend, her pivotal role in the civil rights movement, and the power of one person reaching out to another in the fight for change.
© Latifah Abdur
Tracey Baptiste is the New York Times bestselling author of several works of fiction and nonfiction for children, including the Jumbies series, Marley and the Family Band, Because Claudette, and Minecraft: The Crash. Baptiste teaches in Lesley University's creative writing MFA program and volunteers with The Brown Bookshelf. You can find her on Twitter @TraceyBaptiste and on Instagram @TraceyBaptisteWrites. View titles by Tracey Baptiste

About

From NYT bestselling author Tracey Baptiste comes a singular picture book that is both a biography about Claudette Colvin, the teen whose activism launched the Montgomery bus boycott, and a celebration of collective action.

When fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin boarded a segregated bus on March 2, 1955, she had no idea she was about to make history. At school she was learning about abolitionists like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, which helped inspire her decision to refuse to give up her seat to a white woman, which led to her arrest, which began a crucial chain of events: Rosa Park's sit-in nine months later, the organization of the Montgomery bus boycott by activists like Professor Jo Ann Robinson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Supreme Court decision that Alabama's bus segregation was unconstitutional—a major triumph for the civil rights movement.

Because of Claudette's brave stand against injustice, history was transformed. Now it's time for young readers to learn about this living legend, her pivotal role in the civil rights movement, and the power of one person reaching out to another in the fight for change.

Author

© Latifah Abdur
Tracey Baptiste is the New York Times bestselling author of several works of fiction and nonfiction for children, including the Jumbies series, Marley and the Family Band, Because Claudette, and Minecraft: The Crash. Baptiste teaches in Lesley University's creative writing MFA program and volunteers with The Brown Bookshelf. You can find her on Twitter @TraceyBaptiste and on Instagram @TraceyBaptisteWrites. View titles by Tracey Baptiste

Books for Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Every May we celebrate the rich history and culture of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Browse a curated selection of fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators that we think your students will love. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.

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