Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.

 I wanted to make sure that students understood why we have Monday off from school (NOT just a day to sleep in!), so we've been reading books about him this week.  I love this new addition to our collection called I am Martin Luther King, Jr. by Brad Meltzer, which is from the Ordinary People Change the World series.  Cartoon photos and engaging text talk about Martin from his childhood to his great moments organizing peaceful protests and marches.  The book  stresses how important it was to Martin that protests be nonviolent, and how his parents told him that "it's better to have more love in your life than more hate."

March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World was written by Martin's sister, Christine King Farris.  This book focused on The March on Washington where about a quarter of a million people gathered from all over the country to Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963, because they wanted a change.  It was here that Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, one of the nation's most well known addresses.   The pride that Christine felt for Martin as a person and as a civil rights leader was apparent, and it was interesting to hear about his life from a family member's perspective.

The True Book series is one of my favorite nonfiction series to read aloud.  It has well researched, engaging text, as well as many photographs and sidebars of additional interesting information.  Martin Luther King Jr. spans Martin's entire life, from his childhood in Atlanta, his college years (he started at age 15!), through his involvement in so many civil rights protests, sit-ins, marches, and boycotts.  It described how Mahatma Gandhi's peaceful methods of resistance were a major influence on how King thought change should be achieved.  The book also touches upon Dr. King's assassination, and how tens of thousands of mourners gathered outside his father's church in Atlanta to pay their respects.  

So many great books have been written to honor and celebrate one of America's most amazing and influential figures!