Ruth and the Green Book

By Calvin Alexander Ramsey, Gwen Strauss and Floyd Cooper

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781467738170

Calvin Alexander Ramsey

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 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. He is the father of three children, all of whom are writers.

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Reviews for Ruth and the Green Book

[jmarin3-998396 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ruth and her parents are driving south in the 1950s to visit her grandma in Alabama. She learns that black people are not welcome in many places and her family struggles to find somewhere to stay, get gas, and eat. At a gas station, they are introduced to a the green book which shows friendly places black people can go throughout the south. After that, they are able to stay in safe, welcoming places and meet others on the way to her grandma's.This book is excellent at explaining what Jim Crow and segregation was like in the 1950s from the view of a child. It goes through what Ruth is thinking and feeling during their journey. The book is both sad and heartwarming; it makes you glad there were and are still kind people. Curriculum connection: It is a good introduction for first person narratives, social studies units for that time period, and possibly units on geography and maps. Also, many people do not know about the green books, so it is a good introduction to them. The back of the book has a short history of the green books. I feel like this can be used to compare and contrast with Clean Getaway which is a contemporary fiction book about a boy on a road trip who refers to the green book his grandfather had to use in the 1960s when he attempted the same road trip.

[lisa2013_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I can’t believe I was uninformed about the Green Book, even when I heard about the movie I didn’t understand the significance of its title even though I have had interest in seeing the movie. It wasn’t until learning of this children’s picture book that I learned about The Green Book.The story moved me emotionally, the parts of what Ruth and her family had to go through to the fate of Brown Bear the teddy bear. Heartbreaking. Infuriating. Heartwarming.I want to learn more about this history. I’m hoping that plenty of white owned/run businesses with while employees also were listed in the Green Book. In this book it was mostly African-American/black run businesses that seemed to welcome African-American/black travelers.Lush, gorgeous, large illustrations. I loved the expressiveness of people’s expressions. I loved the art style. I loved everything about them. They’re beautiful and they’re crucial part of the storytelling.The last page of the book is informational. It’s text heavy but includes a photo of the cover of a real Green Book and a photo of a two-page spread of its contents.Highly recommended for girls and boys ages 7-11, and all interested older people too.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The year was 1952, and Ruth and her family were excited to take a road trip in their new Buick, heading south from Chicago to visit her grandmother in Alabama. As African-Americans however, traveling across country wasn't so simple, especially as they headed into the South, where Jim Crow laws prevented them from availing of such amenities as restrooms at service stops, or eating at local restaurants. Then a man at an Esso gas station gave them The Green Book, a national guide which detailed all of the businesses in each state and city which welcomed African-American custom, and their trip improved. Thanks to the help of other African-Americans, and the all-important Green Book, they made it safely to Alabama...With the release last year (2018) of the film Green Book, many movie-goers became aware for the first time of Victor Hugo Green's The Negro Motorist Green Book, first published in 1936. Before the film however, Atlanta-based playwright Calvin Alexander Green wrote a play about the subject in 2007, and it was performed at the Carter Center. He joined forced with co-author Gwen Strauss and illustrator Floyd Cooper to produce this 2010 picture-book based upon his play. I found Ruth and the Green Book to be an immensely engrossing and poignant work of picture-book historical fiction. The authors adeptly depict Ruth's emotional journey in their narrative, as she experiences both the hurt of rejection and racism and the comfort of community solidarity and mutual aid. Her emotional experiences make the depiction of the family's physical journey much more powerful and immediate for the reader. The artwork, as is always the case with the marvelous Floyd Cooper, is expressive and full of feeling, whether of pathos or joy. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books exploring the history of discrimination against African-Americans in the twentieth-century, and their use of The Green Book as an aid in traveling, during that period.

[mcintorino-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This picture book is a gentle look at Jim Crow laws in the South in the 1950s. Young Ruth encounters discrimination for the first time as her family travels by car from Chicago to Alabama. She doesn't understand what is happening until her father explains it to her. When she receives the Green Book, Ruth is empowered by her use of it, and has grown up as signified by her passing Brown Bear on to a younger traveler she meets. The Green Book is historically accurate, and a concise short history of its author and genesis is provided at the end of the book. The book is written in simple yet expressive language, and is told in the first person by Ruth. The color illustrations are a wonderful enhancement to the story, and evocative of the 1950s in America.This book would be a fine introduction to younger children of the topic of discrimination. It would be interesting also to incorporate this into older students' studies of discrimination in our country and the Jim Crow laws. I knew nothing about the Green Book before reading this story. I am glad to know the information I learned.

[kriley5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book for multiple reasons. First I thought the plot was very engaging and realistic. Each event was organized and had a bit of suspense. The plot displayed such a deep and intense topic for children, from a children’s perspective. This allowed the complexity of Jim Crow laws to be simplified for children. Secondly, the book pushes readers to learn about history in a different way. Personally, I always knew that blacks and whites were segregated in many ways; however being able to see how the blacks worked together to find solace and a way to travel was very interesting. The way the book describes facts and tool, such as the green book, to help the blacks travel teaches others about a new side of segregation struggles that many people may not know about. Finally, I really enjoyed the illustrations because they were very detailed and displayed emotion well. I could tell how the characters were feeling based off of their facial expressions. For example, when Ruth hands the little boy a teddy bear, he is in shock and ecstatic. This shows just how meaningful every little gesture is from one black person to the next. They helped each other out tremendously and they would not be able to survive without each other.

[matthewbloome · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a tremendous book. I really found it interesting and I definitely can think of a few ways to use it. The online resource it provides is also excellent. The only thing that threw me was the second sentence on the first page. The narrator was referring to her father's car and halfway through the page, she jumped tenses from past to present and by the beginning of the next page she jumped back to past tense and stayed there for the rest of the book. I don't know if that was a mistake, but it threw me off. The Green Book is a fascinating piece of history that I'd never heard of. I'd love to know a little bit more about it. It makes sense that someone would do that though. Floyd Cooper's illustrations were outstanding as ever.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Ruth and her parents take a motor trip from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandma, they rely on a pamphlet called "The Negro Motorist Green Book" to find places that will serve them. Includes facts about "The Green Book." A well-written, beautifully illustrated story.

[missbrandysue · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ruth and her mother and father are heading from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandmother. But she soon finds that being African American heading to the South isn't as fun a trip as she thought. Her family isn't able to get gas at all of the stations, eat at all of the restaurants and one night even have to sleep in the car because no white motel owners will let them stay the night in a room. Then an Esso gas station clerk sells them a Green Book that helps give them addresses of places that will serve African Americans. This historical fiction piece is very touching. It clearly deserves the 2012-2013 Texas Bluebonnet Award as it's written from the perspective of the young girl. I think it'll be very effective with my 2nd graders.

[pachun_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was the 1950's and Ruth was excitied about her family trip to her Grandma's. What started out to be a pleasant trip, became discouraging as they get face segregation as a result to the Jim Crow Laws. Ruth doesn't know why they are not able to stay at a motel or use the restroom at the gas station. But she see's the frustration and disappointment her parents feel and soon overcome with cheerful songs. After seeking shelter at a friend's home, Ruth and her parents are informed about The Negro Motorist Green Book. Ruth is told that the book contains information on all the places in many states where blacks are welcomed. Been given the job to use the green book, Ruth finds many different places where her and family finds comfort and warmth for the rest of their trip. This is a very good picture book to use for any US History class in high school. It gives a brief explanation of the Jim Crow Laws and through a young girl's perspective, the book shows how it may have affected African Americans during that time. Although it is short, the book can be used as an introduction to the Civil Rights Movement. This book is a must-have for any Secondary school library.