Sweet Justice

Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
$6.99 US
RH Childrens Books | Random House Studio
On sale Jan 11, 2022 | 9781524720667
Age 4-8 years
Reading Level: Lexile AD840L | Fountas & Pinnell T
Sales rights: World
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.
  • HONOR | 2023
    Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor Book
A ROBERT F. SIBERT HONOR BOOK

"Compelling… both narratively and artistically." —The New York Times Book Review
 
★ "Offering an outstanding take on the Montgomery Bus Boycott from a fresh perspective, this is an essential purchase." —School Library Journal, starred review

★ "Christie’s richly colorful, expressive gouache paintings bring the bus boycott into focus while depicting Gilmore as the text portrays her: a down-to-earth hero who used her considerable talent, energy, and courage to work for justice." —Booklist, starred review

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

  • HONOR | 2023
    Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor Book

Praise

A ROBERT F. SIBERT HONOR BOOK

"Compelling… both narratively and artistically." —The New York Times Book Review
 
★ "Offering an outstanding take on the Montgomery Bus Boycott from a fresh perspective, this is an essential purchase." —School Library Journal, starred review

★ "Christie’s richly colorful, expressive gouache paintings bring the bus boycott into focus while depicting Gilmore as the text portrays her: a down-to-earth hero who used her considerable talent, energy, and courage to work for justice." —Booklist, starred review