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Quick Q&A on RIDING TO WASHINGTON

What is it?

A new picture book written by me, Gwenyth Swain, and illustrated by the talented David Geister. The book is 40 pages long, full of stunning oil paintings  by Dave, and appropriate for children ages 7 and up. The publisher is Sleeping Bear Press. The ISBN is 9781585363247, and the cost is $17.95 in hardcover.

What’s the book about?

It’s loosely based on my father’s stories of going to the March on Washington in August of 1963.

If you’ve heard about the March, you probably know of it as the Civil Rights event at which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. But what fascinated me was what my father remembered of getting to the March.

My father, Hank, is white, but he was traveling in a “mixed” busload of both blacks and whites. The bus stopped several times on the way from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C., before finding a restaurant that would serve a racially mixed group. There were also signs on some of the restrooms saying “No Coloreds.”

After hearing my father’s stories, I wished I could have gone on that bus ride to the March. In RIDING TO WASHINGTON, I’ve created a character—a girl named Janie—who gets to go to the March in my place!

What’s the main character like?

Janie’s a little like me, only spunkier. She’s a troublemaker, and that makes her interesting. After all, who doesn’t want to hang around and see what kind of mischief a “spitfire” and a “troublemaker” like Janie will make? Janie doesn’t want to go with her dad to the March on Washington, but she doesn’t have a choice. Her mom says she’s too much trouble to have around the house. So, she’s forced to get onto a bus going from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C.

What sort of research did you do to write RIDING TO WASHINGTON?

Mainly, I talked with my parents, Mardi and Hank Swain. My father has written a brief magazine article called “A March of Hope,” so I re-read that, listened to radio interviews with other people who attended the March, looked at photographs, and found a copy of LIFE magazine that covered the March. And, of course, I listened to recordings of King’s “Dream” speech. The research was both fun and inspiring.

What are some links to look at relating to this new book?

You can find my father’s article, “A March of Hope,” at http://www.ourbrowncounty.com/0306s7.htm.

If you go to www.npr.org (that’s National Public Radio) and type in “March on Washington” in the search box, you’ll find wonderful radio coverage from the 40th anniversary of the March.

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