Dream March: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the March on Washington (Step into Reading)

VAUNDA MICHEAUX NELSON is the author of many books for children, including Almost to Freedom, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book. She was the winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award for Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal. She works as a librarian in New Mexico, where she lives with her husband.

SALLY WERN COMPORT creates editorial visual concepts for the Wall Street Journal (among many other publications), illustrates books, curates and creates large-scale art, and develops aesthetic and branding concepts for direct clients. Sally brings a unique, powerful energy to everything she does. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland.

K-Gr 3–The narrative opens with Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, then traces the March on Washington back to the 1950s and 60s when "black Americans organized and fought extra hard. Their fight was called the civil rights movement." Early protests and famous civil rights activists are mentioned, along with more information on King. The narrative eventually returns to the march and provides finer details about the day ("The marchers crowded the Mall's Reflecting Pool. Some took off their shoes and socks to soothe their feet in the cool water."). The text is surrounded by partial and occasional full-page illustrations. The artwork, done in muted tones with soft lines and washes of color, conveys the somberness of the mentioned events and depicts famous civil rights moments, protestors, marchers, politicians, and King with sensitivity. The text uses words and terms most emergent readers will know in a thoughtful and descriptive way. The author's note provides a paragraph on the 1964 signing of the Civil Rights Act. VERDICT A smart narrative and skillfully done illustrations make this introduction to Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement one all libraries will want to consider.—Tamara Saarinen, Pierce County Library, WA