"You don't do any singing because you're too busy swinging!" Malcolm X jeers at Martin Luther King's nonviolent revolution in the opening paragraph of this biography. It's admirable that Walter Dean Myers does not soften any aspect of Malcolm's life and words. Because of the straightforward treatment, this picture book is clearly aimed at kids in third grade and up.

Malcolm X has often been neglected by elementary schools, where the curriculum focuses on King. In that sense, this picture book takes an important step in acknowledging Malcolm X's message. Some readers may not agree with the civil rights leader's message, because at one time he was a thief and an advocate of violence--and by all accounts a hot-tempered man. However, the targeted age group will learn that people can change.

Quotes from Malcolm run along the bottom of many pages, enriching the narrative. Leonard Jenkins's illustrations are provocative--an interesting mix of realistic images of Malcolm against abstract backgrounds and foregrounds. The prison scene is particularly good, with abstract bars drawn over a reading Malcolm. But another, of Mecca, is so abstract that it may be hard for children to interpret.