Book Review: A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler
Publisher: Holiday House
Release Date: 1989
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. tells the story of the life of the great civil rights leader in a way that is easy enough for a young child to understand. I liked that it kept the explanations simple. For instance, MLK’s mother tells him that black people were brought over from Africa in chains and sold as slaves. Even though they were set free a long time ago, some people still felt like they should be treated fairly. I think more detail than that might too upsetting for a younger elementary school child. I know when I tried to read Cash a more detailed picture book about MLK when he was in kindergarten, he got really upset and two years later STILL doesn’t want to talk in detail about MLK’s life and the life of black people in the sixties.

This book does end with MLK getting shot in Memphis so you may want to omit that part, depending on how sensitive your child is. There is a time-line of events in MLK’s life on the very last page that is helpful.

The illustrations look like watercolor paintings to me and are very nicely done. I think this is a great first book about Martin Luther King, Jr. for a kindergartener or first grader.

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