Martin Luther King Jr. Day
The new CBC Holidays Series will explore stories that relate to specific holidays so that kid, and adult, readers can celebrate in the best way we know how… with a good book!
On Monday, January 17th, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, where we recognize the importance of what MLK has done for promoting racial equality during the Civil Rights Movement. MLK helped the world see how people were judged in their daily lives based solely on the color of their skin, so we can honor his achievements and life by combatting racial inequality and discrimination today. So let’s start by picking up a book to find out how we can continue to support his dream.
Baby Young, Gifted, and Black: With a Mirror by Jamia Wilson, illus. Andrea Pippins (Quarto Group) — Nonfiction, Board Book, Biography / Memoir, History, ages 0-3.
I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. by Brad Meltzer, illus. Christopher Eliopoulos (Penguin Random House / Dial Books) — Nonfiction, Biography / Memoir, History, Series, ages 4-6.
Kid Activists: True Tales of Childhood from Champions of Change by Robin Stevenson, illus. Allison Steinfeld (Quirk Books) — Nonfiction, Biography / Memoir, History, Series, ages 7-12.
Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank by Nancy Churnin, illus. Yevgenia Nayberg (Creston Books) — Nonfiction, Picture Book, Biography / Memoir, ages 7-12.
Martin Luther King Jr (Little People, BIG DREAMS Series) by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vergara, illus. Mai Ly Degnan (Quarto Group) — Nonfiction, Biography / Memoir, Series, ages 4-6.
Martin Luther King Jr. (DK Life Stories) by Laurie Calkhoven, illus. Charlotte Ager (DK) — Nonfiction, Picture Book, Biography / Memoir, History, Diversity, ages 7-12.
The Martin Luther King Mitzvah by Mathew Tekulsky (Regal House Publishing) — Fiction, Prose, Action / Adventure, ages 7-12.
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan, illus. Gregory Christie (Astra Publishing House) — Fiction, Picture Book, Historical Fiction, Background / Culture, ages 7-12.
People of Peace: 40 Inspiring Icons by Sandrine Mirza, illus. Le Duo (Quarto Group) — Nonfiction, Picture Book, Biography / Memoir, ages 7-12.
A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein, illus. Jerry Pinkney (Holiday House) — Nonfiction, Picture Book, Biography / Memoir, History, ages 7-12.
The Power Book: What is it, Who Has it, and Why? by Foreword by Roxane Gay, written by Claire Saunders, Georgia Amson-Bradshaw, Minna Salami, Mik Scarlet, Hazel Songhurst, illus. Joelle Avelino (Quarto Group) — Nonfiction, Picture Book, History, Science, ages 7-12.
The Story of Civil Rights (DK Readers L3) by Wil Mara (DK) — Nonfiction, Picture Book, Biography / Memoir, History, ages 7-12.
When I Grow Up…Great Leaders: Kids Like You that Became Inspiring Leaders by DK, illus. Lucy Semple (DK) — Nonfiction, History, Board Book, ages 0-3.
Have a great MLK Day!
List compiled by CBC’s resident trivia expert, Sommer Wissner. Check out other diverse book lists on our blog and from our Inclusivity Resources list.
