Rollin' on down the Line : Lady Bird Johnson's 1964 Whistle-Stop Tour for Civil Rights

Jr. Library Guild Gold Standard
California Reading Association Eureka Non-Fiction Award- Silver
Children’s Book Council/National Council of Social Studies Notable Trade Book Award
Kansas NEA Reading Circle Gold Recommendation
Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award - Intermediate Nomination 2025-2026

The late summer and early fall of 1964 was a turbulent time in America. After years of racial struggle, in July President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. This law, declaring that all citizens were equal, outlawed racial segregation. Many Americans cheered this legislation; yet some did not. Many Southerners despised it and worried about what it meant for their traditions and way of life. With the upcoming November presidential election, President Johnson was advised not to campaign in the South due to the threats of violence since the signing of the new law. But someone needed to visit the citizens in the South and explain why the new law was necessary and good for the entire country.

Born in Texas, First Lady Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson was from the South and understood its people and customs. Despite her fear of public speaking and threats to her own safety, Lady Bird undertook a train tour to reach out to her fellow citizens and Southerners. This is the true story of her historic Whistle-Stop journey, making almost fifty stops through eight Southern states in four days. July 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.

Helen Kampion finally pursued her dream of writing for children after a career in high-tech sales. With an MFA from Vermont College in Writing for Children and Young Adults, she began writing poetry, picture books, and middle grade novels. Helen’s interest in history and strong women led her to co-author a picture book about Lady Bird Johnson’s courage and grit. She lives in Wayland, Massachusetts.

Reneé Critcher Lyons’s mother always said she would be a writer; as a youth, she wrote on everything―the coffee table, the walls, even the lamp shades! Renee took this prediction to heart. Now, as a creative writer (MFA–Vermont College) and professor of librarianship/children’s literature (East Tennessee State University), little-known points of history inspire Reneé’s creative bent, as does traversing the Blue Ridge hills of North Carolina, her family home for over 250 years. She lives in Boone, North Carolina.

Erin McGuire is an illustrator of many books for children, including several other picture book biographies of powerful women: Alabama Spitfire: The Story of Harper Lee by Bethany Hegedus (HarperCollins), and her author/illustrator debut biography of Rose Valland, The Spy in the Museum (Simon and Schuster). For the past ten years she's been the cover artist for the Nancy Drew Diaries book series and has taught and lectured internationally. Erin lives near Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband and son.her and push her to create picture books, comics, covers, editorial and magazines illustration.