My Dream of Martin Luther King [Hardcover]

Faith Ringgold (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Illustrated in full color. The acclaimed author/illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book Tar Beach recounts her unique vision of Martin Luther King, Jr. by describing a dream she had about the great civil rights leader. The dream includes scenes of King's childhood and the major events of his life, from the boycott of the segregated buses to his "I Have a Dream" speech to his assassination. Illustrated in Ringgold's signature folk-art style, the text includes the author's own personal vision, in which she imagines the people of the world gathering in King's memory to trade prejudice, fear, and hate for hope, peace, and love.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Faith Ringgold had a dream about Martin Luther King. Simply narrated in her own voice, Ringgold--award-winning creator of Tar Beach and Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky paints a vivid, powerful picture of King's childhood and strong family life, along with glimpses of prejudice, segregation, and protest. Her vision blurs dreamily into King's adult life--from his family, to protests of Rosa Parks's arrest, even to his assassination: "This time we had come to mourn Martin Luther King's death by trading in bags containing our prejudice, hate, ignorance, violence, and fear for the slain hero's dream. We emptied the bags onto a great pile, and as the last bag was dumped, the pile exploded into a fire so bright that it lit up the whole world. There, emblazoned across the sky, were the words: EVERY GOOD THING STARTS WITH A DREAM." Illustrated with Ringgold's dramatic folk-modern paintings, My Dream of Martin Luther King is one of the most creative, successful, accessible tributes to Martin Luther King for children that we've seen. (Ages 4 to 8)

From Publishers Weekly

Does the dream of Martin Luther King live on? Yes, says the narrator of this resonant picture book, which uses the peculiar logic of dreams to take the reader beyond straight biography into a more personal, heartfelt interpretation of King's legacy. In a dream, the narrator sees King as a boy experiencing both the well-known incidents of his childhood and those of his early adult life. Dream logic makes this switch not only acceptable but reasonable, suggesting the childhood roots of the man's concerns. The dream changes again: King, now shown as an adult, presides over the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and, in his great speech in Washington, proclaims his dream. The narrator dreams, too, of his death, but also of mourners "trading in bags containing our prejudice, hate, ignorance, violence, and fear for the slain hero's dream." As she awakens, we share with her a powerful message: "EVERY GOOD THING STARTS WITH A DREAM." Ringgold (Tar Beach) mutes her usually exuberant palette for the dream scenes, creating stark, flat illustrations painted in browns, grays, whites, blacks and touches of one other color. Innovative and stirring. Ages 4-9.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (December 12, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517599767
• ISBN-13: 978-0517599761
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,503,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Children's Books > History > United States > Black History

More About the Author

Faith Ringgold was born in Harlem in 1930. She received a degree in art education from the City College of New York and was an art teacher long before she became a professional artist. She is best known for her 'painted story quilts,' some of which hang in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Tar Beach, RinggoldÕs first book for children, won the Coretta Scott King Award for illustration and was named a Caldecott Honor Book. Ringgold is now a professor of art at the University of California at San Diego. She lives in California and in New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully illustrated and well written, August 12, 2000

By 

VERA BAUER (Wheeling, WV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Dream of Martin Luther King (Dragonfly Books) (Paperback)

This beautifully illustrated and well written book was a must have for my daughters library. She's a new teacher and a lover of good books. What a delight to buy this book for her!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a unique approach to telling the story of MLK, Jr., April 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: My Dream of Martin Luther King (Hardcover)

I'm a huge Faith Ringgold fan. This book is very good as expected, but my only complaint is that it is a little too abstract for the target age group (ages 4-8). For example, the kids were confused at the picture of MLK in jail as an infant and the people burning their "baggage". BUT, unique it is... just definitely in need of adult commentary.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Facinating book on Martin Luther King Jr.!, January 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: My Dream of Martin Luther King (Hardcover)

Students were very absorbed in this book. They found the story exciting and it stimulated a great discussion. The idea that someone could dream about Martin Luther King Jr. and see him as a child and then as an adult allowed students to think about how different dreams are from reality. Students were anxious to borrow the book and share it with their families.