As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom
Author: Richard Michelson
Illustrator: by Raul Colon
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, an Imprint of Random House Children’s Books
Recommended Age Range: 7 to 10
Website
Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel both grew up in loving families – one in America; one in Poland. And both grew up discriminated against by the laws of the countries in which they were born. In their separate lives for peace and equality, they ultimately joined together – Christian and Jew; minister and rabbi; black and white – to march for justice. A beautiful tribute to two men who sought to change the hearts and minds of a nation. And did.
Awards: Sydney Taylor Award – Gold Medal – 2009 AJL (Videos); Top 10 Biographies for Youth: 2008 Booklist – American Library Association; Top 10 Religious books for Youth: Booklist – American Library Association; New York Public Library 100 Best Books for Reading and Sharing 2008; 2008 National Parenting Publications Awards – Gold Award Winner; 2009 Skipping Stones Multicultural Honor Award; Museum of Tolerance Children’s Book Award Honor Book; One of the Best Picture Books of the Past Ten Years by Amazon’s Blog Omnivoracious
Dear Willie Rudd
Author: Libba Moore Gray
Illustrator: Peter M. Fiore
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
After fifty years, a woman writes a letter to her African-American housekeeper, whom she loved and adored, but who was bound by the laws and customs of the time. In the words she composes, she removes the injustices of her day – allowing Willie Rudd the same privileges that she received as a young girl.
Awards: A Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
Freedom Over Me: Eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life by Ashley Bryan
Author: Ashley Bryan
Illustrator: Ashley Bryan
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Awards: Newbery Honor Book
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
Author: Jean Marzollo
Illustrator: J. Brian Pinkney
Publisher: Scholastic Press (Pbk.)
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
This story not only shows the accomplishments of this courageous leader, but the events that inspired him to “dream” a better country and change the law. A poignant testament to the power of words.
Awards: Family Circle “1994’s Best Toys, Books, Videos: Top “Multicultural Choice”
Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Author: Doreen Rappaport
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Publisher: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 9
Awards: Caldecott Medal, 2002; Jane Addams Book Awards for Picture Books, 2002; The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books, 2001; Coretta Scott King Award Honor
(SOLD!)Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change
Author: Michelle Cook (Forward by Marian Wright Edelman)
Illustrator: Leo Dillon, et. al. (each historical figure captured by an award-winning African-American children’s book illustrator)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Inc. (Pbk.)
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Our Children Can Soar is a beautiful work that shows how the “pioneers,” profiled throughout the book, paved the way for successive leaders in our country. An inspiring read.
Awards: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children’s
Richard Wright and the Library Card
Author: William Miller
Illustrator: R. Gregory Christie
Publisher: Lee & Low Books (Pbk.)
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 9
Awards: Notable Books for Children, Smithsonian Magazine
Rosa
Author: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Recommended Age Range: 7 to 12
Website
In this Caldecott Honor Book, Rosa Parks’ story is told through powerful words and stunning images; a testament to the quiet strength of this civil rights leader who inspired a nation to stand up for their rights by sitting down for hers. A brilliant book about the power of one person to change the world.
Awards: A Caldecott Honor Book; Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrators
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Eric Velasquez
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Recommended Age Range: 9 to 12
Website
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Selection; 2018 Golden Kite Award Winner, Nonfiction for Young Readers; 2018 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Honor, Middle Level; Booklist Top 10 Diverse Nonfiction for Older and Middle Readers 2018; ALSC Notable Children’s Books 2018, All Ages; 2018 Walter Award Winner, Younger Readers; Capitol Choices 2018, Seven to Ten; CCBC Choices 2018 Choice: Historical People, Places, and Events; CSMCL Best Multicultural Children’s Books of 2017; School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2017, Nonfiction; Shelf Awareness 2017 Best Books of the Year, Picture Books; Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2017, Picture Books; NYPL Best Books for Kids 2017; The Nonfiction Detectives Best Nonfiction Books of 2017
Uncle Jed’s Barbershop
Author: Margaret King Mitchell
Illustrator: James Ransome
Publisher: Scholastic (Pbk.)
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 7
Website
When Marian Sang
Author: Pam Munoz Ryan
Illustrator: Brian Selznick
Publisher: Scholastic Press, an Imprint of Scholastic
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 10
Website
The story of Marian Anderson – a singer whose voice was heard by millions around the world, including those at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, and whose courage inspired many to overcome their obstacles and live their dreams. Beautiful illustrations bring her world, and her music, to life.
Awards: Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner; School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; ALA Robert F. Sibert Honor Award; ALA Notable Book; Flora Stieglitz Straus Award (Bank Street College); NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction; Norman A. Sugarman Award for Distinguished Biography; NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book; Vermont Center for the Book’s Best of Beyond Difference 2003; 2003 NCTE Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts; 2003 Jefferson Cup Honor, Virginia Library Association