ROSA PARKS books at the 2nd Grade reading level

Rosa Parks was an amazing woman who knew wrong when she saw it.  Most adults and children know her as the woman who refused to sit at the back of the bus, but she also worked to educate black citizens so they could pass voting tests. 

**Mrs. Parks was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in June 1999**

Issues:
Segregation, Freedom, Responsibility, Choice

ROSA PARKS
by Cynthia Fitterer Klingel

This book is the easiest I could find on Rosa.  Includes a glossary.  It's also fairly pricey considering how obscure it is.

Reading Information:
Word Count: 210
Page Count:  24
Accelerated Reading level: 2.0 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 59235


ROSA PARKS
(Rookie Biographies)
by Wil Mara

GoodReads Rating: 4.0 stars
— 4 votes

This Rookie Reader features plenty of photos and simple sentences like:

"Rosa Parks changed the world in one day".

Word Count: 354
Page Count:  32
Accelerated Reading level:  2.5 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 86499
Lexile: 430L
--sample pages available


ROSA PARKS
by Lola M. Schaefer

Lola Schaefer's biographies have photos, short sentences, and one thing I really like, which is a timeline across the bottom of all the pages that gradually adds important events as the story progresses.

Word Count: 247
Page Count: 24
Accelerated Reading level:  2.6 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 56276


LET'S READ ABOUT... ROSA PARKS
(Scholastic First Biographies)
by Courtney Baker

GoodReads Rating: 3.3 stars 
— 10 ratings

This book from Scholastic features wonderful drawings and more complex sentences.  (Perfect for a classroom on the cheap. As I write this, there's a copy for one cent.) 

Word Count:  482
Page Count: 30
Accelerated Reading level: 2.9 / points: 0.5
AR Quiz: 89549
--sample pages available


BOYCOTT BLUE:  HOW ROSA PARKS INSPIRED A NATION
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)

**Starred Review** SchoolLibraryJournal
**Starred Review** ALA Booklist

GoodReads Rating: 3.82 stars 
— 112 ratings

Rosa's history is covered in this book but the emphasis is also on all the other folk that endured the long, inconvenient Montgomery boycott that kept them from riding the buses.

This book uses a poetic, metaphoric approach to Rosa's story.  The Jim Crow laws are represented as a bird: a bird that "pecks, pecks, pecks" at people like Rosa Parks.  Word choices include: duet, crooned, and strummed.

That's when our feet took to the streets.
To the sidewalks. To the roads.
That's when the city buses rolled and rolled.
Nearly empty, they rolled.

Word Count: 1,432
Accelerated Reading level: 2.9 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 126990
Lexile: 560L
--sample pages available


ROSA PARKS
(Great Women in History)
by Erin Edison

I couldn't find any info on this one, but I'm including it so you have the reading numbers should your library have it.

Word Count: 318
Page Count: 24
Accelerated Reading level: 2.9 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 155972


ROSA PARKS: A Life Of Courage
by Ann-Marie Kishel

This book does a good job of explaining the social backdrop of the Montgomery boycott.

Table of Contents
A Life of Courage
The Bus Ride
The Arrest
The Community Reacts
Success!

Rosa Parks Timeline
More about Rosa Parks
Websites
Glossary
Index 

"Soon the white section of the bus was full. More white people got on the bus.  There were no seats for them.

Word Count: 583
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 2.9 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 105672
--sample pages available if you go to the Library Edition.  The paperback edition is currently broken for some reason.


Also available in Spanish!
ROSA PARKS: Una Vida De Valentia
(Rosa Parks: A Life Of Courage)
by Ann-Marie Kishel

Word Count: 583
Accelerated Reading level: 3.8 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 105672
--sample pages available


For books at the 3rd Grade reading level, click here.

compiled by Pam T