Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues

by Harriette Gillem Robinet

Book Overview

"Oh, I'm singing the bus-rider blues,
the Alabamy bus-rider blues.
I got me a feeling, deep down inside,
It ain't never ever gonna be the same."
During the Alabama bus boycott, six months after Rosa Parks made her famous bus protest, Alfa Merryfield and his family struggle to pay the rent. But someone keeps stealing their rent money -- and now someone is accusing them of stealing!
With only a few days left before rent...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689838867
• ISBN13: 9780689838866
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Students can't put it down

I have used this as a novel unit the past 3 years with my fifth grade students. They love it and come to school in the morning admitting that they read ahead because they couldn't put it down. This historical fiction book (at least for the under-20 crowd) is also a mystery -- actually there are two mysteries to solve. The dialect and dialogue are very well crafted and the characters are well developed. The solutions to the mysteries aren't obvious so it's suspenseful right up to the end. It's now out of print so get it while you can!

Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues Review By: Mr. X

How would you like to be segregated?  What if you had to work to support your family even as a 12 year-old kid? Well, this are all problems the main character, Alfa, has to face in this story. I think everyone should read this book to learn how African Americans were treated during the Civil Rights movement. This book kept me hooked until the very end, and it was also one of the few books at ever touched me emotionally. I definitely encourage everyone to read it! This book was definitely worth reading because of all of the pleasing features it had. This book was well written in a way people can understand and feel the mood of the author as Alfa confronts the "System" of black segregation during the bus boycott in Alabama. For example, when his family is blamed for stealing, the author enrages Alfa into taking a stand and "talking the talk and walking the walk" as Martin Luther King Jr.'s preaches taught him. This is an eye-opening book because it made me realize how harsh the lives of African Americans were back then; it was like a lesson. What I loved about the book was that the author was able to mix mystery with historical-fiction in the story. This book was clearly one of the best books I have read thanks to all of it's great qualities. Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues had action, mystery, history, and, most important of all, emotion from the author. It's building suspense kept me biting my nails as I read the book. It was fun learning about the life-styles of African Americans, but depressing to see them suffer through the hard times. This book helped me understand the African-American culture in a better way. Everyone should read this book to feel the same way about the book as I do. Just go ahead and have a fun time reading it!

Fiction And Fun

Do you know what many white people were doing to Blacks during segregation? Well, this book "Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues" by Harriet Gillem Robinet will answer your questions. It's fiction, but it is based on historical records which tell how African Americans were treated during segregation. During the time of the main character Alfa's life, boycotting buses in Montgomery, Alabama was a hard struggle for African Americans. Many of them had to walk for miles in hot weather, listening to whites telling them to stop causing trouble. In the book, Alfa is a strong black young man who tries to clear his name after being accused of stealing a lot of money. He also has to deal with racism and taking care of his elderly grandmother and his older sister. The writer's style is very descriptive. You can imagine in your mind what everything looks like just by her words. One thing I really liked about this book is that it tells you about history. At the same time, there is an exciting fiction story to read. "Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues" will be a great book for people who likes books that have enormous suspense in it and also people who love history. Why not give this book a try?

this book kept me on the edge of my seat!

Walking to the Bus-Rider-BluesAlfa is a small town boy living in Alabama. He lives his life day in and day out worrying about the rent money. His family make ends meet pretty well by combining their money to make the rent. One day Alfa was beat-up while walking home from work. The white boys steal his half of the rent money! Luckily Mama Meryingfield can cover his half this time. But what if it happens again? Alfa is a very good worker he makes sure all the vegetables are stacked right and makes sure the milk is fresh. He talks to his boss about the white boys. How he is going to get beat up on every pay-day. Alfas boss tells him that he needs to learn about the boys, scare them a little that will make them go away. So as Alfa is on his delivery run the white neighbor hood is yelling all kinds of racial slurs at him. He just keeps singing his bus-rider-blues. Me, personally I think the book was great. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way threw the beatings and the payback and the mystery.

Reminiscent of Watsons Go to Birmingham

The characters are so real and the story so well-written that I felt like I was walking right along with them. It's a wonderful book for children to get the feel of what it was like during the Civil Rights movement. I'm a middle school teacher, and I highly recommend this book for grades 4-8.