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Sweet Justice

Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
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Hardcover
$18.99 US
On sale Jan 11, 2022 | 40 Pages | 9781524720643

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An inspiring picture-book biography about the woman whose cooking helped feed and fund the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956, from an award-winning illustrator.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY New York Public LibraryChicago Public Library


Georgia Gilmore was cooking when she heard the news Mrs. Rosa Parks had been arrested--pulled off a city bus and thrown in jail all because she wouldn't let a white man take her seat. To protest, the radio urged everyone to stay off city buses for one day: December 5, 1955. Throughout the boycott--at Holt Street Baptist Church meetings led by a young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr.--and throughout the struggle for justice, Georgia served up her mouth-watering fried chicken, her spicy collard greens, and her sweet potato pie, eventually selling them to raise money to help the cause.

Here is the vibrant true story of a hidden figure of the civil rights movement, told in flavorful language by a picture-book master, and stunningly illustrated by a Caldecott Honor recipient and seven-time Coretta Scott King award-winning artist.
  • SELECTION | 2025
    Texas Topaz Reading List
  • HONOR | 2023
    Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor Book
R. Gregory Christie has illustrated more than sixty books for young adults and children, including Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor. He has also received two New York Times Best Illustrated Book awards, six Coretta Scott King Honors for illustration, the NAACP Image Award, the Boston GlobeHorn Book Award, and the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. In addition, Greg has designed John Coltrane album covers and animated films on Netflix, and he operates his online store of autographed children’s books, GAS-ART Gifts. He lives and works in the Atlanta area. View titles by R. Gregory Christie

Discussion Guide for Sweet Justice

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

About

An inspiring picture-book biography about the woman whose cooking helped feed and fund the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956, from an award-winning illustrator.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY New York Public LibraryChicago Public Library


Georgia Gilmore was cooking when she heard the news Mrs. Rosa Parks had been arrested--pulled off a city bus and thrown in jail all because she wouldn't let a white man take her seat. To protest, the radio urged everyone to stay off city buses for one day: December 5, 1955. Throughout the boycott--at Holt Street Baptist Church meetings led by a young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr.--and throughout the struggle for justice, Georgia served up her mouth-watering fried chicken, her spicy collard greens, and her sweet potato pie, eventually selling them to raise money to help the cause.

Here is the vibrant true story of a hidden figure of the civil rights movement, told in flavorful language by a picture-book master, and stunningly illustrated by a Caldecott Honor recipient and seven-time Coretta Scott King award-winning artist.

Awards

  • SELECTION | 2025
    Texas Topaz Reading List
  • HONOR | 2023
    Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor Book

Author

R. Gregory Christie has illustrated more than sixty books for young adults and children, including Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor. He has also received two New York Times Best Illustrated Book awards, six Coretta Scott King Honors for illustration, the NAACP Image Award, the Boston GlobeHorn Book Award, and the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. In addition, Greg has designed John Coltrane album covers and animated films on Netflix, and he operates his online store of autographed children’s books, GAS-ART Gifts. He lives and works in the Atlanta area. View titles by R. Gregory Christie

Guides

Discussion Guide for Sweet Justice

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

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