Civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, known for being the first Black student to desegregate a New Orleans public school in 1960, will publish three new children’s books with Scholastic, the publisher announced in a news release.
The first book, I Am Ruby Bridges, will be “a bold and beautifully illustrated book introducing a new generation of readers to this remarkable civil rights pioneer,” Scholastic said. It will be published in the spring of 2022, with two more picture books, Dear Ruby Bridges: Letters from Kids Speaking up for a Better World and A Talk With My Teacher, following in 2023.
Bridges and Scholastic have collaborated before, on the 1999 book Through My Eyes, an autobiography.
“I am very happy that Scholastic and I are continuing our 25-year journey together,” Bridges said. “I often say that if we are going to make lasting change, it has to come from our young people. I look forward to bringing these new titles into the Scholastic portfolio as they believe like I do in the transformative power of storytelling.”
News of Bridges’ book deal comes just three days after the death of her mother, Lucille Bridges.
Ruby Bridges’ most recent book, This Is Your Time, was published by Delacorte on Tuesday. A reviewer for Kirkus called it “essential reading for all ages.”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
