author / illustrator: Irène Cohen-Janca, Marc Daniau
ages: 8+
40 pages
24 x 33 cm
hardback
Les Éditions des Éléphants
Sold: English (world), Arabic (world)
Ruby, Head High: Ruby Bridges' First Day of School
Inspired by an iconic Norman Rockwell painting, this is a story about the day a little girl held her head high and changed the world.
In 1960s Louisiana, Whites and Blacks do not mix.But times are changing…Ruby cannot study at school close to home, it’s reserved for white people, so she has to go to another school far away. But segregation is living its last few hours. When she is 6 years old, Ruby enters the William Frantz school, which was reserved for white people until then. The population is highly hostile.
Upon arriving in the classroom, Ruby is the only black student... This is the beginning of a terrible year that will mark her life. Ruby Bridges has become a symbol, notably by becoming the subject of Norman Rockwell’s famous painting, The Problem We All Live With, where she is seen on the way to school escorted by 4 federalagents.
- Published in partnership with Amnesty International in France.
- National School Reading List, cycle 3 (France)
- Shortlisted for the "Prix des incorruptibles" award (2018-2019)