Ruth and the Green Book

The picture book inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film The Green Book

Ruth was so excited to take a trip in her family's new car! In the early 1950s, few African Americans could afford to buy cars, so this would be an adventure. But she soon found out that Black travelers weren't treated very well in some towns. Many hotels and gas stations refused service to Black people. Daddy was upset about something called Jim Crow laws . . .

Finally, a friendly attendant at a gas station showed Ruth's family The Green Book. It listed all of the places that would welcome Black travelers. With this guidebook--and the kindness of strangers--Ruth could finally make a safe journey from Chicago to her grandma's house in Alabama.

Ruth's story is fiction, but The Green Book and its role in helping a generation of African American travelers avoid some of the indignities of Jim Crow are historical fact.

Author: Gwen Strauss,Calvin Alexander Ramsey
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (R)
Published: 08/01/2010
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 11.10h x 9.40w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9780761352556
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.6
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 138160 / Ruth and the Green Book


Award: Bluebonnet Awards - Nominee
Award: North Carolina Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: IndieFab awards - Bronze Medal Winner
Award: Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Recommended
Award: Jane Addams Children's Book Award - Honor Book
Award: Jefferson Cup - Honor Book
Award: Delaware Diamonds Award - Nominee
Award: Independent Publisher Book Awards - Gold Medal Winner
Award: Sequoyah Book Awards - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2011 pg. 43
Kirkus Reviews 10/15/2010
Publishers Weekly 10/11/2010 pg. 44
Booklist 11/01/2010 pg. 68
School Library Journal 11/01/2010 pg. 79
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 12/01/2010

About the Author
Cooper, Floyd: - Floyd Cooper (1956-2021) was a Coretta Scott King Award winner and illustrator of numerous books for children including Ruth and the Green Book, A Spy Called James, and Max and the Tag-Along Moon. Unspeakable, one of his final picture books, was a National Book Award longlist title, a Sibert Honor book, and a Caldecott Honor book. He received a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and went on to develop a distinctive art technique called oil erasure.Strauss, Gwen: - Gwen Strauss's is an award-winning poet and her writing has appeared in many publications, including the London Sunday Times, The New Republic, New England Review, Kenyon Review, Tampa Review, and Antioch Review. She has also published books of poems titled Trail of Stones and The Night Shimmy which has been translated into several languages. She works as the on-site director at the Brown Foundation Fellowship Program at the Dora Maar House in Ménerbes, France.Ramsey, Calvin Alexander: - Calvin Alexander Ramsey is an Atlanta-based playwright, photographer, folk art painter, and children's book author. His plays have been performed across the United States and his picture books have won numerous awards including an ALA Notable Children's Book, a Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor, and a Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year. He is the father of three children, all of whom are writers.