Just Like Martin [Mass Market Paperback]

Ossie Davis (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

Joining the local efforts for Civil Rights in their 1960s Deep South community, fourteen-year-old Ike Stone and his companions are proud of their part in the movement until two of their friends are killed in a racial bombing incident. Reprint. PW. AB.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Isaac Stone, coming of age in the South amid the tumultuous civil rights movement, embraces the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from his Korean War veteran father. PW's starred review heralded this as a "passionate first novel." Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9-- The year is 1963, and 14-year-old Isaac ``Stone'' Stone's father, Ike, won't let him travel with the rest of his church youth group from Alabama to the civil rights march in Washington. His mother has just died, and his father worries that something will happen to the boy. Besides, ever since Ike came back from the Korean War filled with bitterness, he has kept a gun in the garage. He opposes his son's devotion to nonviolence and belittles his admiration of Martin Luther King. When the church youth meeting room is bombed, killing two friends and maiming a third, Stone organizes a children's march. Ultimately, these efforts and the assassination of President Kennedy force Ike to confront his feelings and support his son. Both Stone and Ike are well-drawn characters, and their relationship is developed convincingly. Stone's devotion to his cause will inspire readers from all backgrounds. Davis realistically portrays the boy's struggle to apply King's values in his personal life, and the ending is hopeful but not happy. Unfortunately, inconsistencies in language and dialogue interrupt the flow of the story, as do the characters' tendencies to make speeches. Historical information is not always integrated smoothly. This is a moving story, but one that does not quite come together as a novel. --Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Siena College Library, Loudonville, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140370951
• ISBN-13: 978-0140370959
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just Like Martin, November 4, 2001

By 

"smilingrrl" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Like Martin (Mass Market Paperback)

Just Like Martin is a story about an adolescent African American boy named Stone, growing up in a small city in Alabama in 1963. He is an active member of his church group, where he is responsible for many of the youth functions. He is enamored by Martin Luther King Jr. and the peaceful Civil Rights movement. However, his group of friends at the church are involved in a serious hate crime (a bombing) that killed two of his dear friends. He struggles with his feelings about the reason for their deaths, and struggles also with the relationship with his father. A hardened Korean war veteran, Stone's father does not share Stone's peaceful stance and even attempts to prevent Stone's involvement. By and by Stone understands his father and the two become closer through Ston'es idea of a Children's March in his deceased friends' honor. This is a very well written story of courage, friendship, and family. I loved it and would wholeheartedly recommend it to others.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I Have A Dream", November 19, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Just Like Martin (Hardcover)

"I Have A Dream"

In the book Just Like Martin there is a boy named Stone who is really trying to spread non-violence across the nation. There is a huge event where all black people come together and march. Martin Luther King was a leader in the march. He said his "I Have A Dream" speech.
Some bad things started to happen at the end of the book. It might change the meaning of discrimination forever. Read this good book to find out.
I really liked this book. It was exciting and it shows you that if you really work toward something that it might actually come true.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Like Martin-"A Must Read", January 31, 2001

By 

adibe shabazz (Tarboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Like Martin (Mass Market Paperback)

This book depicts what it was like for African American adolescents to "take part in" The Civil Rights Movement. It mixes history and fiction to create a riveting rights of passage portrait of Isaac Stone, the protagonist, who aspires to be "just like Martin." Last year, I used the novel to teach sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Even so, I think the book should be also used to teach fourth and fifth graders about the March on Washington, the elements of the short story,etc. In addition, this book is a very good way to help students gain a better under- standing of individual responsibility, friendship, the peer group, obstacles, and the father/son relationship.