Books That Teach Kids About Martin Luther King Jr.

This Friday we're celebrating the vision and legacy of a remarkable man. It's important that our children understand who Dr. Martin Luther King was, what he stood for, and what he did for our nation.

I love that there are books available--from chapter books to graphic novels--to help educate our youth.

Let The Children March

Coretta Scott King Honor Award for Illustration2019

I couldn't play on the same playground as the white kids.

I couldn't go to their schools.

I couldn't drink from their water fountains.

There were so many things I couldn't do.

In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, thousands of African American children volunteered to march for their civil rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world. Frank Morrison's emotive oil-on-canvas paintings bring this historical event to life, while Monica Clark-Robinson's moving and poetic words document this remarkable time.

Who was Martin Luther King, Jr?

The story of one of the most influential civil rights activist of our time.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 25 when he helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was soon organizing black people across the country in support of the right to vote, desegregation, and other basic civil rights. Maintaining nonviolent and peaceful tactics even when his life was threatened, King was also an advocate for the poor and spoke out against racial and economic injustice until his death—from an assassin's bullet—in 1968. With clearly written text that explains this tumultuous time in history and 80 black-and-white illustrations, this Who Was? celebrates the vision and the legacy of a remarkable man.

Teens:

March

Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Discover the inside story of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of one of its most iconic figures, Congressman John Lewis. March is the award-winning, #1 bestselling graphic novel trilogy recounting his life in the movement, co-written with Andrew Aydin and drawn by Nate Powell. This commemorative set contains all three volumes of March in a beautiful slipcase.

#1 New York Times and Washington Post Bestseller

First graphic novel to receive a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award

Winner of the Eisner Award

A Coretta Scott King Honor Book

One of YALSA's Outstanding Books for the College Bound

One of Reader's Digest's Graphic Novels Every Grown-Up Should Read

Dear Martin

"Powerful, wrenching.” –JOHN GREEN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down

"Raw and gripping." –JASON REYNOLDS, New York Times bestselling coauthor of All American Boys

Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates.

Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.

Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.

These are just a few books you can check out. But there are many more. Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday is Friday, and I hope you'll take a moment to reflect on what his life's mission has meant to our nation. Thank you for stopping by.

Blessings,

LB