Martin Luther King, Jr. Picture Book

With Matin Luther King, Jr. Day just around the corner, I thought I would take a moment to share a new picture book dedicated to this American hero.    While I haven't found a plethora of books that I love about Martin Luther King, Jr, the paintings in this new offering are absolutely stunning and done by an artist whose work I greatly admire. So I hope this book inspires you to talk with your children about the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the day devoted to his life.

Title:      I Have a Dream

Author:  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Target:   Kindergarten - Grade 5

What this book is about:
This is an illustrated version of Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech.  An audio recording of the actual speech is included with the book if it is purchased, but my copy  from the library did not have one.  I can only imagine that it would have made this beautiful picture book even more compelling.  The book is of selected portions of the speech, but the complete version is printed at the back.

Why I love this book:
The illustrations are magnificent.  Kadir Nelson’s paintings overlooking the Lincoln memorial are stunning and capture the historic and significant time of the speech.  When I read this with my daughter I actually got chocked up.

Who this book is for:
This is a bit difficult.  Out of context, I don’t know how much children will take away from this book, but if you are willing to invest some time talking about race and its history in our nation, this book is a moving tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision and his significance in history.

Final thoughts:
Kadir Nelson is such a wonderful and powerful artist, that I always look forward to his work.

To purchase this book, click on the following link to connect to Amazon: I Have a Dream (Book & CD)  A portion of each purchase goes back to support this blog.