Riding to Washington (Tales of Young Americans Series) »

Janie is not exactly sure why her daddy is riding a bus from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C. She knows why she has to go-to stay out of her mother's way, especially with the twins now teething. But Daddy wants to hear a man named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak and, to keep out of trouble, Janie is sent along. Riding the bus with them is a mishmash of people, black and white, young and old. They seem very different from Janie.

As the bus travels across cities and farm fields to its historic destination, Janie sees firsthand the injustices that many others are made to endure. She begins to realize that she's not so different from the other riders and that, as young as she is, her actions can affect change.

Children's Literature

Young Jamie knows why she is joining her father on the bus trip to Washington in 1963. "It's cause I get in trouble." So she will be out of her mother's way as they go to hear Martin Luther King, Jr., speak. As a white girl who does not see many "coloreds" where she lives in Indianapolis, she gives a unique view of the journey and of the people she meets, black and white. On the way, the mixed group cannot find a restaurant, or even a rest room, where they can be accommodated. By the time they arrive and hear Dr. King speak, Jamie has a different view of "colored" people and of the dream of "coming together in peace." From the jacket painting of Jamie and Mrs. Taylor, her African American companion on the bus, the inspirational content of the story is evident. Full page, naturalistic, detailed scenes portray the narrative sequence. The nighttime double page of the dimly lit gas station, where Jamie confronts the attendant who would deny use of the rest room, adds a bit of menace. The masses at the Lincoln Memorial are depicted effectively; integrated listeners leave the reader with a positive message. Part of the "Tales of Young Americans Series," the book includes personal and factual information about The March. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz