El libro ilustrado que sirvió de inspiración para la pelÃcula ganadora del premio de la Academia El libro verde
Ruth estaba muy emocionada de realizar un viaje en el nuevo coche de su familia! A inicios de la década de 1950, pocos afroamericanos podÃan permitirse comprar un coche, por lo que esto serÃa una aventura. Pero pronto se dio cuenta que en muchos pueblos los viajeros negros no eran bienvenidos. Muchos hoteles y estaciones de servicio se negaban a atender a personas negras. Papá estaba muy molesto por algo que se llamaba las leyes de Jim Crow . . .
Finalmente, un empleado amable en una estación de servicio le mostró a la familia de Ruth El libro verde. El libro indicaba todos los lugares que aceptaban a viajeros negros. Con esta guÃa, y la amabilidad de algunos extraños, Ruth pudo finalmente realizar un viaje seguro desde Chicago a la casa de su abuela en la Alabama rural.
La historia de Ruth es ficción, pero El libro verde y cómo ayudó a toda una generación de viajeros afroamericanos a evitar algunas de las humillaciones de Jim Crow son hechos reales.
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.
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.
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.
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.
