School Library Journal Starred Review (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

K-Gr 2 —Autobiographies for young elementary students are a rare find. This jewel of a book, written by a Civil Rights icon and engagingly illustrated by Smith, transports young audiences to Bridges's own thinking and experience as she recalls her six-year-old self. As a child, Bridges was curious about so much and had a sense of what world events were going on around her. As narrator, Bridges does not break a child's perspective and keeps her voice true as she notices but doesn't explain the momentous change she was a part of. What mattered to her was going to school and making new friends. While there are many titles available that celebrate Bridges, this title soars with the voice of a hero recalling her own childhood and honoring the children who will read this story. VERDICT Any picture book collection tackling the Civil Rights Movement has to start here. Highly recommended for all shelves, this exemplary title for history and biography collections shows how the events of the world impact our youngest citizens.—John Scott

ALA Booklist (Mon Jun 05 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this sweet, wise work, Bridges recounts her memories of being the first Black child d as far as she could see, the first Black person of any age a formerly all-white school in 1960 Louisiana. When Ruby first attended school, one where everyone looked like her, she worried that Ruby was "a name for little old ladies." But no problem, she would try to fit in, and fit in she did, in a classroom whose attendance list shows students named Harriet, Fannie, Whitney, Malcolm, Medgar, and Martin neat touch. Then our little hero had to take another school's entrance test. No problem either. Soon Ruby's off to the new school, where she hears she will be the first Black student. Suddenly, things aren't so easy. But, being Ruby, she finds happiness: it's good for all children that Black children can go to any school, she says, and we see her happily awaiting new friends. Sepia-toned paintings of Ruby at home and at school will make her journey come alive for readers, who can enjoy the finding-confidence story on its own merits; this will also shine as a complement to civil rights history books.

Horn Book (Thu Oct 03 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

When I grow up, my work will be precious, I will be a bridge.

Kirkus Reviews

The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old's perspective.Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009's Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. "I didn't find out what being ‘the first' really meant until the day I arrived at this new school," she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of "screaming white people" that greets her at the school's door (she thinks it's like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith's illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates ("School is just school," she sensibly concludes, "and kids are just kids") and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In an autobiography told through a child’s eyes, Ruby Bridges (b. 1954) recounts her experience as the first Black child desegregating William Frantz Elementary School in 1960 New Orleans. External events mean little to six-year-old Bridges as she contemplates “how much I didn’t even like my name” and starts out “at a regular school with lots of other kids to play with.” But following Brown v. Board of Education, her parents’ choice of a school “with better opportunities” brings white federal marshals to the door as an escort. “Who told them I needed a ride to school anyway?” says Bridges, seemingly unaware of the context behind the moment. Viewing class pictures at school finally offers clarity for the child, who sees her experience as a good thing for all: “Who cares what colors we are?... School is just school and kids are just kids.” Smith’s vigorous digital brushwork portrays Ruby, in sharp relief against blurry backgrounds, as she celebrates being “the first.” Ages 4–8. (Sept.)