What Is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day?

by Margot Parker, Matthew Bates (Illustrator)

A story of schoolchildren learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the significance behind his holiday.

Genres: Nonfiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1990

Reviews

[Colleen]

The facts are laid out clearly and simply for a younger audience; however, this book is really hindered by a weird/unnecessary narrative that is full of tropes and ugly, dated illustrations.

[Prabhat sharma]

What is Martin Luther King Jr. Day by Margot Parker, Illustrator Bates, Hindi language translation by Arvind Gupta- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates the story of why Third Saturday of January month is declared a public holiday in USA. The book begins with school bulletin board showing that a parade will be organized in the afternoon at school to remember Afro- American Martin Luther King Jr. Janet, Amy, Daniel and Benn are planning to play games because it is a holiday. After reading the bulletin board, they starting exchanging information about Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 and was murdered on April 4, 1968. King Sr. was assistant pastor of the Ebenezer church, Atlanta, Georgia. In September 1935, he started school for black children. Slavery and racism was prevalent. If Afro- Americans wished to board a carriage, they had to sit in the back portion. Water, food was separate for whites and coloured. When Martin joined college, he learnt that Gandhi, an Indian leader who had proved that change in government thinking can be brought by peaceful means. Gandhi’s success encouraged to start equal status of black and white movement by changing laws. In August, 1963, King marched and delivered his famous “I dream that one day whites and coloured will walk together on the streets like brothers and sisters”. King was awarded Nobel Peace Prize. In April, 1964, he was shot dead in Memphis. He was buried in Atlanta where about 50,000 persons participated in the burial. In 1968, Congress declared third Monday of January as a holiday to celebrate work done by Dr Martin Luther King Jr. All school pupils move to the ground to participate in King’s celebration. Coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.

[Reham]

What is Martin Luther king, Jr., Day? By Margot Parker. 5 – 8

This book is a great introduction to Martin Luther King Jr for children. With this is book it will be very easy to explain about our country's history of racism and segregation and how we needed heroes, like Martin Luther King Jr. also this book will teach the children what does it mean to have a dream and to follow that dreams no matter what. Children will learn at a young age that there is no difference between people whether in colors or culture.

Content:
1- Martin Luther king birthday January 15.
2- Fifteen years after he died, congress voted to begin this holiday.
3- Dr. Martin won Nobel Peace Prize.
4- In August 1963, Dr. King led the biggest civil rights march of all Washington, D.C.


Children can act the Marin Luther character in class and try to imitate his famous word “I have a dream”. Teacher can put this book in the pretend play area or dramatic play area. Also she can put it in the library and read it in circle time.

[Dolly]

Though the background story is a little hokey, the narrative is good, the pictures are interesting and the information is thorough without being boring. Despite the "tv sitcom" ending, it's a good story and I like that it shows that the holiday means more than just having a day off from work or school.

[Kathryn]

This is a story about students in a classroom that are finding out what Martin Luther King Jr. day is. They are all explaining the importance of this day to each other and explaining why we celebrate the day. It is a good way for kids to understand the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. This would be a great introduction to looking at his life and understanding his importance.