Claudette Colvin: I Want Freedom Now!

Ages 4 to 8

From the civil rights icon herself, along with the author of the multiple-award-winning, mega-bestselling biography Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, comes an unforgettable picture book illustrated by a New York Times-bestselling artist.

Montgomery, Alabama 1955. Fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin is tired. Tired of white people thinking they’re better than her. Tired of going to separate schools and separate bathrooms. Most of all, she’s tired of having to give up her seat on the bus whenever a white person tells her to. She wants freedom NOW! But what can one teenage girl do?

So, on a bus ride home from school one day, young Claudette takes a stand for justice and refuses to get up from her seat for a white passenger. What follows will not only transform Claudette’s life but the course of history itself.

Told in the words of civil rights hero Claudette Colvin, this heartfelt story illustrates how one simple act of courage can create real and lasting change.

About the Author

Phillip Hoose is an award-winning author whose other works include the picture book Hey, Little Ant, and the middle-grade nonfiction books Duet; The Race to Save the Lord God Bird; The Boys Who Challenged Hitler; and We Were There, Too!, a National Book Award finalist. He lives in Portland, Maine. philliphoose.com

Claudette Colvin is a civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat led to the Montgomery bus boycott and helped bring an end to segregation on busses throughout the South. Phillip and Claudette have been friends ever since he wrote a National Book Award-winning book about her for young adults, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.

Bea Jackson is a character and concept artist and illustrator. In addition to her work that appears on book and comics covers and in magazines and articles, she has also created the artwork for numerous children’s books, including Parker Looks Up, a New York Times bestseller and NAACP Award for Outstanding Children’s Literary Work nominee, Parker Shines On, and Our Beautiful Colors. beagifted.com