In honor of Martin Luther King Day, which will be celebrated on Monday, January 21, I'd like to highlight some of the best children's books about African American freedom fighters. The newest is I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which contains portions of his historic speech, accompanied by the dramatic artwork of Kadir Nelson. The book comes with a CD of Dr. King delivering the speech almost fifty years ago on August 28, 1963.
Others I recommend include: Martin's Big Words, a wonderful picture book biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., which was written by Doreen Rappaport and has dramatic and moving cut paper collage and watercolor illustrations by Bryan Collier, Portraits of African-American Heroes by Tonya Boldon, with illustrations by Ansel Pitcairn; Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Boston Weatherford, with illustrations by Jerome Lagarrigue; and Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters by Andrea Davis Pinkney, with illustrations by Stephen Alcorn. If you have others to recommend, click on "Comments" below and share information about them.
(Cover art courtesy of Hyperion Books for Children)
Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter | Follow me on Twitter | Connect with me on Facebook