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I Am Martin Luther King, Jr.: Ordinary People Change the World
Common Sense says
- Brad Meltzer
- Biography
- 2016
Parents say
Kids say
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. is the eighth book in author and History Channel host Brad Meltzer's Ordinary People Change the World picture book biography series, which includes books on Abraham Lincoln, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, and Lucille Ball. The narrative approach and at times comics-like design of each book is the same: A pint-sized, big-headed cartoon version of the person looking like his or her adult self gives a capsule first-person account of childhood through greatest accomplishments. So here's King, sporting his trademark mustache and wearing a mini-black suit and tie, as a child in segregated Georgia, then a minister, then leader of nonviolent civil disobedience actions and marches to effect change. Police beatings and the infamous water hoses turned against child protesters are referred to but not shown. Sophisticated concepts and vocabulary ("... it was a wake-up call for the nation's conscience") make this a better bet for kids 7 and up than the 5 to 8 recommended by the publisher. In any case, parents and teachers should be ready to answer questions about this turbulent period of U.S. history.
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What's the story?
I AM MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: ORDINARY PEOPLE CHANGE THE WORLD traces King's life from his boyhood in Georgia, where he's stopped from playing with a white friend and can't be served ice cream at the white soda fountain or go to the white amusement park or school. But he loves books and "big words," which he gets to use first as a minister and then as a leader in the civil rights movements where his speeches motivate African-Americans to stand up for their rights and march against injustice. The book succinctly covers the most famous protests he led, and the final two pages include a biographical and civil rights movement time line, as well as black-and-white photos of King and his family and the March on Washington.
Is it any good?
The lively style and kid's-eye view of history as it happened make this brief first-person biography engaging and accessible to young readers. Kids who wonder what life in the segregated South was like or why there's a holiday in King's name will get a better understanding of both from this visually appealing book.
Illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos' cartoony style and comics-like layout, complete with speech balloons, make it easy to read, even though it deals with serious issues and complex history.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about Martin Luther King. Jr. What did you learn from this book that you didn't know about him or what he did?
What do you think about how the illustrator pictures King as a small kid with a mustache and dressed as his grown-up self?
How different is life in your town and at your school compared with what life was like for young Martin in his town?
Book details
- Author: Brad Meltzer
- Illustrator: Christopher Eliopoulos
- Genre: Biography
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters, Great Boy Role Models, History, Misfits and Underdogs
- Book type: Non-Fiction
- Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: January 5, 2016
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 5 - 8
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Hardback, Kindle
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.