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: 0.9lbs
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: Jane Addams Children's Book Award - Honor Book
Award: Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Recommended
Award: IndieFab awards - Bronze Medal Winner
Award: North Carolina Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Delaware Diamonds Award - Nominee
Award: Independent Publisher Book Awards - Gold Medal Winner
Award: Jefferson Cup - Honor Book
Award: Sequoyah Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Bluebonnet 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
Strauss, Gwen: - Gwen Strauss's book of poems, Trail of Stones, with illustrations by Anthony Browne was published by Knopf in New York and Walker Books in London. The Night Shimmy (Random House), a children's book with the same illustrator, has been translated into several languages. She 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 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, Atlanta-based playwright, photographer, and folk art painter, grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and Roxboro, North Carolina. In addition to having been a year-round resident of Martha's Vineyard, Calvin has a passion for travel and has lived in New York City; Santa Monica, California; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Croix and St. John.

He is a former Advisory Board Member of the Robert Woodruff Library Special Collections at Emory University in Atlanta. He is also a recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award.

His plays have been performed in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; San Francisco; Valdez, Alaska; Omaha, Nebraska; Baltimore; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

His plays include Bricktop, The Musical; The Green Book; Damaged Virtues; Canada Lee; Sherman Town, Baseball, Apple Pie and The Klan; Enlightenment; Sister Soldiers; Kentucky Avenue; Somewhere In My Lifetime; Johnny Mercer: A Man and His Music, a musical tribute to the author of Moon River and others; and The Age of Possibilities. His children's books are The Last Mule of Gee's Bend and Ruth and the Green Book.

He is the father of three children, all of whom are writers.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 Unspeakable. He received a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and went on to develop a distinctive art technique called oil erasure.