King's Courage

Blast to the Past #4

by Stacia Deutsch, Rhody Cohon, David Wenzel (Illustrations)

The Blast to the Past gang gets the chance to impact civil rights when they meet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and give him their vote of confidence in this fourth book in the Blast to the Past series.

It’s another exciting Monday for Abigail, Zack, Jacob, and Bo—they are going to jump back to the past to meet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! The kids need to convince Dr. King not to get discouraged and to lead one of his famous voting rights marches. And they’ve got to do it with the twins’ baby brother, Gabe, in tow!

This mission will be more challenging—and more surprising—than any that they’ve faced so far. Luckily, they’ll get some help from two very special people...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Time Travel

112 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

#1 New York Times Best Selling Author, Stacia Deutsch has written more than 300 books.

In addition to her award-winning creative chapter book series entitled Blast to the Past, Stacia has also ghostwritten for a popular girls' mystery series, published non-fiction texts, and penned a young adult romantic comedy called In the Stars. She has also penned popular titles for Girls who Code Books 1 & 2 and several Spirit: Riding Free books.

Additionally, Stacia has written junior movie tie-in novelizations for summer blockbuster films, including HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, the New York Times Best Seller: CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS JR. MOVIE NOVEL, and THE SMURFS MOVIE NOVELS.

Check out Stacia's website for more titles!

A bit more about me:
✥ Lives on a Ranch with 4 horses, 2 cats, 2 dogs and a lot of lizards
✥ Has an Masters in Fine Arts from Western State Colorado in Genre Fiction
✥ Was recently awarded a Doctor of Divinity honorary degree from Hebrew Union College
✥ Grew up in Denver, lived in Cincinnati, and now lives in California

Find her at www.staciadeutsch.com.
Email: staciadeutsch.writes@gmail.com
Twitter: @staciadeutsch, www.facebook/staciadeutsch, and www.instagram.com/staciadeutsch_writes/
Stacia lives in Temecula, California.

Reviews

[Reading is my Escape · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining story that also teaches...
 
It’s another exciting Monday for Abigail, Zack, Jacob, and Bo—they are going to jump back to the past to meet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! The kids need to convince Dr. King not to get discouraged and to lead one of his famous voting rights marches. And they’ve got to do it with the twins’ baby brother, Gabe, in tow!
-from the book blurb
 
 

What a fun story. There is adventure and excitement as the kids meet Martin Luther King, Jr. and try to convince him not to give up on his dream. Along the way, facts are slipped in casually. I learned things I didn't know about the marches and Dr. King, but I didn't feel like I was reading a history textbook.
 
This is a great book for kids who think they don't like historical fiction. It reminded me a bit of the Magic Tree House series. The mix of facts and adventure is very well done. This is book 4 in the series (other historical figures include Washington, Lincoln, Disney, Alexander Graham Bell, Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross...)
 
Recommended to:
Students in grades 3-5 who like adventure, especially if they have an interest in a historical figure.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picking this book up off my public library shelf, I did not know what I was reading. I went ahead and checked out the rest in the series and I'm actually enjoying reading these books! This book talks about Martin Luther King Jr. and how these students in the history club are time traveling to save history. MLK Jr. is deciding to give up on his dream and these 3 kids need to go back in history to convience him to not give up on his dream. THey have to figure out different ways to do this. While reading this book, there is true information and information that you would not normally hear in a social studies text book about what MLK Jr. went through. They talk about all the different marches that MLK Jr. goes through and then they talk about how life was for the blacks in 1965. For me also, it had a personal connection because I was born in Selma, Alabama and the bridge that connects Selma to everything else it he Edmound Pettums Bridge. When I visit my family, this is the bridge that I drive over constantly.

[Dany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about four third graders who go back in time to save history in two hours. Abigail, Bo, Zack , Jacob, and their little brother, Gabe, go back in time to help Martin Luther King Jr. to follow his dream. In the time being, Zack's and Jacob's little brother distroys the time travel computer and they have to do their best to get back to their own time and convince Martin Luther King Jr. in two hours when Zack's and Jacob's little brother disappear at the same time. This was great but it didn't really interest me, it was too cheesy and even with the suspense that made it even more cheesier. So that is the reason I gave a four star rating than of a five star rating. If you read this book then I hope you like it more than I did when I was reading it. Also my favorite quote from this book is ," Voting is power." , because anyone can vote for rights and none of this would never happen if Martin Luther King Jr had never been at any of the marches(not generally speaking).

[sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars for Mattis - lost one star for sadness
2 stars for me - super cheesy

We read this to celebrate Black History Month.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another entertaining and educational story in the Blast to the Past series by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon.

We were troubled by the difficulties and the brutality experienced by those fighting for civil rights in the mid-1960s, but it's an important story and it happened just a short time ago in our country's history.

I like that these stories combine a bit of sci-fi with historical fiction. Children can relate to the main characters in the story and learn about these famous people and historical events through their eyes.

Overall, the stories are engaging and informative, although perhaps a bit too dramatic at times. We've enjoyed reading the books in this series and we look forward to the next tale: Sacagawea's Strength.

interesting quote:
"Fighting only leads to more fighting. Dr. King preaches nonviolence. We must swallow our anger and meet fists with love." (p. 26)

[Kathryn]

This is a great story for young readers because it tells about 4 young kids that jump back in time and convince MLK Jr. to not get discouraged and to lead the march in Selma. It is a challenging task for the children, but they fight through this and help MLK see his march is very important. This story could be used when talking about biographies and reading about them in the classroom. You could also use it when the focus of your lesson is on MLK and his great achievements. You could have the kids discuss what they would do or how they would convince MLK to stay encouraged to lead the march in Selma.

[Wendy]

Time travel series. A group of kids travel back in time to convince Dr Martin Luther King to continue thr figjt for voters' rights.