This gave a basic overview of Claudette Colvin for kids who weren't aware of who she is which is many. I do wish they had chosen to include the true reason why Rosa Parks was chosen to be the face of the movement but liked that they alluded to them meeting prior so there was some groundwork laid.

I am excited to add these to our personal library at home and will be recommending these to the librarians at our district's middle school and elementary schools.
The collection overall is great for kids who enjoy the Who Was? series as well as the American Girl series.
Despite reading many, many women and girl focused books, I had not come across Claudette Colvin's story. I am thankful that she is highlighted now and that children can learn about her story and how she chose to take a stand to change the world she was living in.
I thought Cline-Ransome did a wonderful job of writing this historical biography in a way that was informational, engaging, and age appropriate.

Back in 2017, Chelsea Clinton wrote a picture book called She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World. That concept first inspired two more picture books and has now been expanded into a series of chapter books, with one for each of the 13 women featured in the original picture book. While Clinton has lent her name to the overall series, she is not the author of these chapter books. Instead, 13 female authors have each written one of the books and very importantly, Black female authors have been brought aboard the project to write the books about Black figures.

I read three of the first books from the series to be released: Harriett Tubman, Claudette Colvin, and Sally Ride. While I was familiar with Tubman and her involvement with the Underground Railroad, I knew little about her life and found this book to be a fantastic primer that is perfect for upper elementary/lower middle grade readers. While a book aimed at this age range naturally skirts around most of the more horrifying elements of a story rooted in slavery, it also doesn’t gloss over them and makes it clear how awful life was for Tubman and other enslaved people.

Claudette Colvin was a name I was far less familiar with, having only ever heard the name in passing. Again, I found this book to be an excellent primer that gave me a thorough grounding in Colvin’s life story and her importance to the US civil rights movement, including her connections to names I was more familiar with like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. The book made me immediately want to go out and learn more about Colvin and discover why her name isn’t nearly as well known as some of her contemporaries.

Finally, I read the Sally Ride book. Ride is another figure with whom I was familiar but I knew very little about her life outside of NASA. This book explored her childhood and the years she spent training to play tennis as well as her NASA career which gave me a more detailed understanding of her as a whole person. I was also pleased to see that the book didn’t shy away from acknowledging her long-term same-sex partner later in her life.

At the end of each book is a short section titled “How You Can Persist”. These sections list practical ideas for helping you to honor the subject of that book. In Tubman’s book, the ideas including helping a lost person find their way, making a wish on the North Star, and listening to a traditional spiritual from her era, and thinking about how it inspires you. Colvin’s book suggests learning about your rights, reading the US Constitution, and researching others working to bring about positive changes in the world, while Ride’s suggestions include reading one of her books, stargazing to spot her favorite constellation, and helping take care of the planet. These sections are followed by a list of references including books and websites that will be ideal for those wanting to learn more or for kids studying for school projects.

This is an excellent series so far and one I know I’ll be continuing to read throughout the year as further books are released. I also hope we will eventually see future volumes based on Clinton’s other She Persisted picture books.

This telling of a Claudette Colvin's refusal to give up her bus seat at the tender age of 15 is not a lengthy book, but it is powerful.

I loved how it showcased Claudette's faith and I also liked that it showed that not everyone supported her, not even some of the people who should have been happy that she took a stand. I think that's an important side of things to highlight because we need to know that even when we are doing what's right we might be standing with fewer people on our side than we expected.

I really enjoyed this look at Claudette's early years and learning more about where she came from. I look forward to reading more about her in the future.

Raise your hand if you know about Rosa Parks. Now, raise your hand if you know about Claudette Colvin. Likely many of you are like me: before I read this book, I'd heard her name and knew she was a young participant in the American Civil Rights movement but didn't know anything else. This chapter book for middle grade readers introduced me to an amazing young woman. The book reads like a story but avoids fictionalized dialogue. I do wish it included a bit more about what happened to Claudette after the events in the book. A timeline would also help young readers put various events in perspective. Small quibbles though about what is overall an excellent book.

I was very excited to hear about the creation of this series. High interest biographies are very popular in my school, but some kids don't always want to read a picture book biography because it appears to be too easy and the Who Was/Who Is series is a step above a good fit for them. I think this series will fit a niche that has been missing and I am excited to share with students. This biography is a wonderful reminder that before Rosa Parks was Claudette Colvin and this will help bridge the information gap some students may have about this historical time period. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for the opportunity to read an early copy.

I received an electronic ARC from PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group through NetGalley.
Part of the She Persisted biography series for elementary level readers.
Cline-Ransome introduces young readers to Claudette Colvin - one of the brave young people who stood up for their rights in the 1950s. Readers see her life from birth through mid-teen years. The simple to follow text pulls readers into this world where people were judged on their skin tone and did not receive equal or fair opportunities. The main theme of this series is perseverance and standing up for yourself and others. This book clearly shows how Colvin did this and paid the price for it along the way.
A definite purchase for elementary libraries.