A Bus of Our Own

Plot Summary

More than anything, Mable Jean wants to go to school. She has to walk five miles to get there, though, and her papa told her that if she can't keep up, she'll have to wait another year. She hurts her foot and misses some school days, but Mable Jean doesn't give up. When the white children on their bus pass Mable Jean and her friends, laughing and taunting them, it's almost more than she can take. Finally, Mable Jean asks her parents why the black children don't have a bus, too. Based on real events, this story celebrates the spirit of African-Americans who lived in rural Mississippi in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Awards

2003-2004 Young Hoosier Book Award Master List (Picture Books); Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People for 2002-CBC/NCSS; Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2002

Reviews

"This story, based on true events, tells how Mable Jean's simple question inspired a community of African Americans in post-World War II Mississippi to beat the odds....Though the oil paintings are hazy (like memories), the effects are remarkably strong; for example, the faces of the white children riding the bus tell a story by themselves. This satisfyingly different title is worthy of acquisition and begs to be read aloud and discussed." School Library Journal

"Set in the South more than 50 years ago, Costello's oil paintings show the suffering (in one unforgettable double-page spread the white kids on the bus jeer as they pass the walking children) but also the determination of the black community....The drama is in the facts about what ordinary people did together." Booklist

"Evans's story is clearly written and well told; what could have been preachy comes through as a thoughtful reconstruction of events and a gentle tribute to determination." Kirkus Reviews

"Costello's paint and pastel impressionistic illustrations capture shine and shadow on faces perfectly and warmly suggest the fall countryside in which events take place. A good first effort by author and illustrator and one that adds further detail and texture to the era before Brown v. Board of Education."
Children's Literature

Associated Keywords
black, blacks, african, african-american, social studies, segregation, school