My Dream of Martin Luther King (Hardcover)

by Faith Ringgold (Author) "I've always been a dreamer..." (more)
Key Phrases: Young Martin, Daddy King, Martin Luther King

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.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• 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: 12.4 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,455,968 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 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!

3 of 3 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

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a unique approach to telling the story of MLK, Jr., April 20, 2000

By A Customer

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.