Today, when I searched for a perfect picture book for Picture Book of the Day, a picture book on Civil Rights for kids found me. As Fast as Words Could Fly had been sitting on my pile waiting patiently. A long while. But just yesterday, I had the honor and privilege of bringing Civil Rights Icon, Ruby Bridges, to my elementary school. I was able to spend time with her by driving her to her hotel in Boston after the presentation along with my two girls.
My girls noted how elegantly composed she was. It was the way she spoke, they noted. And she was warm, friendly, and down-to-earth. There is something about her presence that, while she is able to go about everyday life unrecognized, makes you sit up straighter and take notice. At least, that was the effect for about 200 kids at our elementary school. Her message was both about to effect change (and it does take a village) as well as a more personal one about giving every person a chance.
It’s apt that her last name is “bridges” because she was the person who crossed a very dangerous bridge allowing others to follow. Ruby is here with two of our teachers. Mrs. H. to the farthest left came up to tell Ruby that because of her work, she was able to attend a previously all-white private school in Brookline. Mrs. H-C to the far right is a teacher who also teaches diversity and acceptance as a core message to kindergarteners.
Ruby Bridges fought for integration in New Orleans. The year was 1960 when she was finally allowed to attend an all-white school. In other parts of the country, this very same battle happened over and over again.
While Ruby’s story might be the most well as it is told through four books and a Disney movie, there are many more stories of kids who overcame adversity, prejudice, and hatred to attend integrated schools. As Fast as Words Could Fly is the story of author Pamela M. Tuck’s father and the role he played in Greenville, North Carolina.
Ruby Bridges talked about the importance of communication in the fight for civil rights. Letter writing was an important tool to get political leaders to help. Young Mason Steele became the de-factor communications arm for his father’s civil rights group, writing letters to politicians and business leaders about the injustices taking place. Words, and the tools of communication — then the typewriter — ended up being powerful tools for Mason.
For both Ruby Bridges and 14-year-old Mason Steele, proponents of segregation used inferiority as one of the reasons why schools could not be integrated. Ruby, along with 136 other rising first graders, had to “pass” an all-day, rigged test created to make them fail. She was one of six children who passed. Mason Steele uses his typing skills as a communication vehicle that showed white people that blacks were just as good, if not better, in a high school typing competition.
Ruby Bridges: A Talk with My Teacher by Ruby Bridges, illustrated by Trudy Tran
Hear from Ruby Bridges herself on what it was like to be the first Black child to integrate an elementary school in New Orleans, Louisiana. During her second year, her beloved teacher, Mrs. Henry, did not come back. Now, Ruby and Mrs. Henry reunite to recount their experience during Ruby’s first year at William Franz Elementary School, now called Akili Academy. [picture book autobiography, ages 4 and up]
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
At just six years old, Ruby Bridges became the first African American student to desegregate an elementary school in the South. Despite the hate she faced, Ruby Bridges held fast, returning to school day after day until the school reluctantly integrated. This is her story, in her own words, of that year. She includes a historical backdrop of the events surrounding it that gives context to her own experience. [picture book, ages 8 and up]
Dear Ruby, Hear Our Hearts by Ruby Bridges, illustrated by John Jay Caubuay
Ruby Bridges has inspired a new generation of children through her classroom visits. Children write about their hopes, fears, and plans to change the world, and Ruby shares her responses to each of them. This picture book is a reminder of the importance of role models. My kids were lucky enough to have met her when they were in elementary school. [picture book, ages 5 and up]
As Fast as Words Could Fly by Pamela M. Tuck, illustrated by Eric Velasquez
14-year-old Mason Steele used his typing skills both as a writer and a speed typist to prove that he had the right to attend a previously all-white school. His important Civil Rights story showed that kids could make a difference as well as the personal battles they fought every day at school.
The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist by
Is nine years old too young to make a difference? This is the true story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, the youngest person to be arrested for a civil rights protest. She marched in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. [picture book, ages 5 and up]
How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison
MacNolia Cox was the first African American child to win the Akron, Ohio spelling bee, allowing her to compete in the National Spelling Bee in Washington DC. When she crossed the state line to Maryland, she faced racism, segregation, and discrimination that carried into The National Spelling Bee competition itself. Still, she made it to the top 5 in the nation and showed the world that African American students could compete academically at the highest level. On September 12, 2021, she was honored by the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan resolution.
The Senate passed U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman’s (R-OH) bipartisan resolution yesterday honoring the life, legacy, and achievements of northeast Ohio native MacNolia Cox, who in 1936 became one of the first two Black students to compete in the National Spelling Bee as finalists. That same year, MacNolia became the first Black participant to win the Akron Spelling Bee at the Akron Armory. She helped inspire students like Zaila Avant-garde, who earlier this summer became the first Black American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
[picture book biography, ages 7 and up]
For anyone who wants to learn more about Ruby Bridges, including how to bring her as a speaker to your school, the information is on her website.
Disney’s Ruby Bridges
Ruby said that she worked hard on the movie to make sure it was historically accurate and she’s proud of the result. Our third grade watched it in the classroom before her visit. It also makes a great family movie to watch together.
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story by Ruby Bridges
The Story Of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
p.s. I have more books for children on The Civil Rights Movement:
Top 10: African American Picture Books. If you read the 10 books in order, it covers the key periods and people in African American history through picture books.
Celebrating MLK Day with 3 Children’s Books. I selected two picture books and one chapter book to help tell the story of the impact Martin Luther King, Junior made.
Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Children’s Books. I have seven books for kids including picture books, YA, non-fiction, and chapter books.
Ten Chapter Books for Kids on the Civil Rights Movement. This list covers many genres including picture books, chapter books, Young Adult and non-fiction.
5th Grade Slavery Unit. I cover a little of the history of the Underground Railroad where I live, what life was like during this time, and book lists including picture books and chapter books.
Booker T Washington: Picture Book of the Day. The story of Booker T. Washington told through an advanced picture book.
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Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
- ⭐ Starred review from Kirkus Reviews!
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The Traveling Taco:
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
- Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025
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We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court
- ALSC Notable Children’s Book
- 2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
- Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
- 2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
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- Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
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Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
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- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
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- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
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- Sunshine State Young Readers Award Orange Blossom List for Nonfiction
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
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Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year
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This is such an amazing post. I can’t WAIT to get my hands on the book, and I have recommended it to several teachers. Thanks as always!
Hi Catherine,
I’m so glad that you liked the book. I think it’s so important to tell these “ordinary heroism” stories of kids who collectively have changed the world. It was so eye opening to me that something that we take for granted — typing skills — was used to demonstrate effectively for Civil Rights. It makes so much sense that protest can be as peaceful and powerful as winning a typing competition. I just wish that someone had cheered for him and given him the award too. He deserved that.
If only these books could change adults perceptions. There is still lots of bigotry today and it starts at the top. It’s usually the more accepting people anyway who give their kids books like these
Hi Faigie,
I hear you! But I’m also hoping that the story inspires kids to realize that they can be agents of change in their own way. It doesn’t have to be big and flashy or Super Hero-y. Sometimes just quietly standing up for someone or something they believe in can change the world in ways that reverberate forever. I really like these true stories of ordinary heroism. It gives me hope.
Thanks for the inspirational post! Can’t wait to read it!
Thanks Maria!
I loved the story of Ruby Bridges and appreciated how valuable it was as a teaching resource. I can’t wait to see this book because I know it will be another winner!
Hi Barbara,
It was such a honor and pleasure to meet Ruby Bridges. She said that the work she does gives her hope for the future. She’s changing kids by opening their eyes one auditorium at a time. I just think it’s too bad that she wasn’t able to go college because she would make the most amazing teacher. I guess she is teaching now as well but if she ever stops doing school visits, I think she should be in the classroom.
How cool!!! We read the level two reader she wrote earlier this year, and loved it! I didn’t know there was a movie, but now I will get a copy for us to watch. I think she is a wonderfully inspirational person!
Hi MaryAnne,
I didn’t realize there was a movie either until the event but it sounds like a wonderful way to make Ruby’s story come alive. She said that she worked very hard on it to make sure it was accurate. There were some details that are misconceptions like she refused to eat her lunch and hid it because she was afraid of being poisoned. She said that wasn’t true though the threats to poison her were real. The federal agents asked that her mom pack her a lunch for safety reasons but the reason she hid her lunch was to be allowed into the cafeteria so that she might meet some kids to play with. The principal was hiding the white kids who were there (a handful of kids whose families wanted to support Civil Rights) but they were hidden deliberately so they could not play with Ruby. My kids were horrified that the principal was so evil. I wonder who this person is and how she feels about it decades later. I also think that the families who risked their jobs and lives by sending their kids to school with Ruby should be commended and identified too. Ruby said that they were not offered Federal protection and that crosses were burned on their lawns, bricks were thrown through their windows and the husbands lost their jobs. So many people fought for Civil Rights … it a good reminder of the extent of the movement!
I love success stories and especially if they are stories about liberation. I have to read this one.
Thanks Viren,
I think you will like this picture book then!
Wow the real Ruby Bridges wow! We loved the Disney movie!
And we will have to check out. This book we loved the one you recommended about Booker T Washington!
Hi Ann,
It’s good to know about the Ruby Bridges Disney movie. I didn’t know about it until the presentation but I hear that it is excellent. The kids who watched it before meeting her seemed to get more out of the presentation as well.
And I’m so glad that you liked the Booker T Washington picture book. I do love the As Fast As Words Could Fly as well and would recommend it for a Civil Rights unit. We do that in 4th grade at my elementary school.
I love how you have approached this topic through books.
Thanks for linking to The Sunday Showcase. I’ve pinned to our board.
Thanks so much Rebecca!
This is such great information! Civil rights is such an important topic and good books make it much easier to teach! Thanks for sharing this at Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets!!
Thanks so much Carla and thanks for coming by via Teach Me Tuesday!