This biography was written by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier. It was published by Scholastic Inc. in 2001 and is recommended for third grade. This biography has been given many awards.
Rappaport wrote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s biography as a narrative. Even though it was written as a story, it had justifiable factual content including specific dates, events, and quotes. The historical era and geographical place was mentioned along with the general aspects of his life such as his childhood and family. An "important dates" page was also included in the back for additional reference. As for the author of this biography, she is definitely qualified to have written about this subject. In her author's note in the front of the book, she told readers about her actual experiences in this time period. She was very involved with the civil rights movement and even participated in the March on Washington in 1963. She is very researched in the subject of MLK Jr.
Collier's illustrations made a big impact on this biography. His pictures were pieced together in collage form and were very detailed. The expressionist style of his illustrations really came across beautifully. Every picture enhanced the story and harmonized perfectly with the text. You won't find a biography with better pictures than these.
After reading this book to the class, quiz them with these discussion questions:
- What does the author mean by Dr. King's big words?
- Who was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
- What did he do?
- Why did he need to do this?
- What time period was this?
- How did Dr. King and his people "fight back?"
- Explain the meaning of segregation.
- Explain the meaning of discrimination.
- Explain the meaning of a "sit-in."
- Why did Dr. King not want people to fight with their fists?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
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