Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney present a poignant, blues-infused tribute to the men and women of the Montgomery bus boycott, who refused to give up until they got justice. Focuses on the human elements of the Montgomery bus boycott following the 1955 arrest of Rosa Parks: the struggle to keep walking as the seasons changed, the crowded city streets, and the gathering numbers of the determined boycotters.

"Boycott Blues" is a picture book inspired by Rosa Parks bus boycott that took place in the year 1955. This story is narrated by the character, Dog Tired, who tells the story with his guitar, based on a rhythm and blues music perspective. This makes it more entertaining for young readers. The images were not super detailed, but the use of shades of blue go with the rhythm and blues perspective, and how this was a dark time in history. The use of lines in this book that look to be a whirlwind, in my opinion, seem to be used as a metaphor to show that this time period was a a dark place where African American's were caught in a whirlwind of segregation. This book could be used in a history lesson during Black History Month, or in a lesson specifically about Rosa Parks. ( )

This book is about the boycott of busses after Rosa Parks was arrested for not allowing a white man to take her seat. The author considered Jim Crow laws as a bird and after the black community refused to ride busses there was change. For 382 days, they walked and rode bikes instead. This book would be a great way to start discussing boycotting during the Civil Rights Movement. ( )

This depiction of Rosa Parks' arrest was very interesting, to say the least. They have illustrated Jim Crow to be this dark entity that looms over everyone takes part in the racist system of segregation. The overall illustration uses colors to express tones, that really grabs the kids attention. This book also does a great job of helping kids build their foreshadowing skills because of the style of art. ( )

Boycott Blues by Andrea Davis Pinkley is a historical fiction children’s book inspired by Rosa Park’s boycott movement in 1955. The story is told from a dog singing the blue's perspective which is oppressed by an evil bird spirt also known as Jim Crow. You can see the evil bird's presence lurking around every page of the story, and the book refers to the bird’s “peck, peck, peck” when he is near or causing trouble. I really liked the metaphors of “Dog tired,” presented at the beginning of the story. At first, I wasn’t sure of what the author was saying, but once I got to the boycott part of the story where everyone on strike was so tired from walking, it made perfect sense. Although this was not my favorite style story, just because the stories use of language was unclear, I did appreciate the illustrations because the artist chose to use the “blues” colors of deep blue and black, which helped convey the oppressive tone of the story. ( )