Martin Luther King Day is a chance to teach your children about the civil rights movement and America’s continued battles with racism. Have the day off? Pick up one of these books from your library (or buy it from a local shop) and take a few minutes to read it. Here are 10 of my favorite picture books for Martin Luther King Day.
Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier. It can be really hard to get kids to pay attention with picture book biographies, especially for a larger-than-life person like Martin Luther King. I like this book because the text is simple and clear. The illustrations are heartfelt but don’t distract from the message. Even little kids will listen to this and understand Martin Luther King’s life and passion and why we should continue to learn about him.
Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Dee Romito and Laura Freeman. A restaurant cook in Alabama organized a group of women to cook and bake and raise money to help those participating in the bus boycott. Martin Luther King later trusted her enough to hold civil rights meetings at her home. We hear many stories about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King (and rightly so). However, this focuses on other people who made a big difference in their communities.
A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein and Jerry Pinkney. My family and I really enjoyed this book about how Martin Luther King worked with other advisors and speechwriters to craft the “dream” speech he is known for. Interestingly, he did not originally intend to give the speech he did.
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney. WOW. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It tells the true story of the college students who sat peacefully at a “whites only” section of a North Carolina Woolworth’s and waited to be served lunch. Their courage continued the civil rights movement and spurred many other people across the country to sit in restaurants and protest. This is a great book for teaching your kids about doing the right thing even if it seems small.
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni and Bryan Collier. I have read my kids several books about Rosa Parks, but I like this one best. It explains what happened when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, but it also gives more of a biography and explains what led up to her decision. Bryan Collier’s illustrations are also stunning.
Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington by Michael G. Long and Bea Jackson. Like me, you may not have heard of Bayard Rustin until now. This book tells the story of the openly gay civil rights activist and how he organized the largest protest in civil rights history despite facing immense prejudice himself.
Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford and James E. Ransome. As the title suggests, this book encourages readers to be like Martin Luther King Jr. and continue to stamp out hatred and fight for equality. I appreciate that it offers specific ways to help others and can spark some great conversations.
We March by Shane W. Evans. All about the 1963 march in Washington, D.C., where Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech, this book is about a family’s experience during that time. I love the diversity in the illustrations and the simple text that makes you wish you could have been at the march yourself.
Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy and Janelle Washington. I was in COLLEGE when I first heard about Emmett Till and read the phenomenal book Getting Away With Murder. This story focuses on Till’s mother, Mamie, and her courage after her son was brutally murdered. BUY THIS ONE.
I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr. and Kadir Nelson. Introduce your family to King’s well-known speech in this book that includes an abridged version and beautiful illustrations. Kadir Nelson’s artwork is so powerful and complements the text well—and the book also comes with an audio CD of King’s speech so you can listen to it.
Share your favorite picture books for Martin Luther King Day with me! I’d love more ideas, including civil rights and Black History month picks.
Want more? Check out 10 books about white privilege and racism.
