Rollin' on Down the Line

July 1, 2024
Grades 2-4 It may be an overstatement that the four-day, 47-stop campaign Lady Bird Johnson undertook through the South just after the 1964 Civil Rights Act was signed into law "changed the role of the First Lady forever," but it did show courage, because she faced not only hecklers as she addressed small-town gatherings but serious threats of violence, too. Only some stops get mentions within the main narrative, but all are listed at the end, along with additional facts about the trip and train. Johnson handled all the challenges gracefully while resolutely urging local audiences to focus on ties that bind rather than "tensions" that divide. And if there's no way to know whether her "Southern accent" and manner soothed "hard feelings" or changed many minds about civil rights, three of the eight states she visited did, the afterword notes, unexpectedly vote for LBJ that fall. In McGuire's illustrations, Johnson (with her period hair) poses forthrightly on the speaking platform of the "Lady Bird Special" before crowds of well-wishers and angry sign wavers. Though little known today, it's a historical episode worth remembering.

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October 1, 2024
Lady Bird Johnson redefined the role of first lady, campaigning for her husband through the politically hostile American South. After signing the Civil Rights Act into law in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson faced an uphill battle for reelection, especially in the segregated South. When Secret Service agents deemed it too dangerous for the president to campaign in Southern states, the first lady--a Southerner herself--stepped up and began her historic whistle-stop tour (so named because "trains whistle over and over as they pass by or make stops"), visiting eight states in four days. Though it was unheard of for political wives to campaign alone, Lady Bird courageously faced protestors, hecklers, and even a bomb threat. While it can't be proven, the afterword suggests that Lady Bird's grit and Southern charm may have swayed the votes of several Southern states in LBJ's favor. Soft, painterly illustrations evoke the time period through color and clothing. Though this appealing book's focus is the action-packed tour itself, Lady Bird reflects on the injustice of segregation during her childhood in Texas, wondering "why her best friends could play with her in her front yard but not in the schoolyard." The authors gloss over Lady Bird's own privileged upbringing, but on the whole, they offer an illuminating look at a historical moment that many may be unaware of. An engaging whistle-stop tour through an important chapter in women's history that's rarely given room to shine. (additional facts, timeline, authors' note, photos, bibliography, source notes, photo credits)(Informational picture book. 6-10)

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