BOOK MARKED
leader for the youngest of readers. Colorful
photos and age-appropriate text make the
book accessible for those just starting to read
on their own or with a caregiver.

MIDDLE GRADE
“A Place to Land: Martin Luther
King Jr. and the Speech That
Inspired a Nation”
By Barry Wittenstein,
illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Explore this true story behind one of the
“Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?” most celebrated and legendary speeches
of all time. This book shows how Dr. King
By Bonnie Bader
With short chapters written in clear, succinct spent the night before the historic March on
text and complemented by black-and-white Washington figuring out what to say and how
illustrations throughout, this entry in the to say it.

popular “Who Was?” series explains the
historical context of Dr. King’s life and legacy YOUNG ADULT
in an accessible way for upper elementary and The March Trilogy
middle school students.

By John Lewis and Andrew Aydin,
“Martin Rising:
Requiem for a King”
illustrated by Nate Powell
Long before he was a member of Congress,
John Lewis was a key leader in the Civil
Rights movement alongside his friend,
By Andrea Davis Pinkney,
Martin Luther King Jr. This graphic novel
illustrated by Brian Pinkney
This beautiful tapestry of poetry, musicality trilogy, told from his own perspective,
and spirituality explores the final months follows Lewis’s childhood in rural Alabama
of one of the most influential men in U.S. to his first meeting with Dr. King to the
Nashville sit-in campaign, the March on
American history.

Washington and the showdown in Selma to
end voter suppression.

“The Rock and
the River”
By Kekla Magoon
In 1960s Chicago, 14-year-old Sam is caught
in a conflict between his father’s nonviolent
approach to seeking civil rights for African
Americans, inspired by the work of Dr. King,
and his older brother, who has just joined
the Black Panthers.

“Dear Martin”
By Nic Stone
Top of his class and bound for the Ivy League,
Justyce McAllister begins writing a journal
to Martin Luther King Jr. in an attempt to
make sense of his recent experience with
systemic racism. Through his writing,
Justyce explores if Dr. King’s teachings hold
up today and how to make sense of a world
that doesn’t seem to trust him. n
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