K-Gr 3The narrative opens with Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, then traces the March on Washington back to the 1950s and 60s when "black Americans organized and fought extra hard. Their fight was called the civil rights movement." Early protests and famous civil rights activists are mentioned, along with more information on King. The narrative eventually returns to the march and provides finer details about the day ("The marchers crowded the Mall's Reflecting Pool. Some took off their shoes and socks to soothe their feet in the cool water."). The text is surrounded by partial and occasional full-page illustrations. The artwork, done in muted tones with soft lines and washes of color, conveys the somberness of the mentioned events and depicts famous civil rights moments, protestors, marchers, politicians, and King with sensitivity. The text uses words and terms most emergent readers will know in a thoughtful and descriptive way. The author's note provides a paragraph on the 1964 signing of the Civil Rights Act. VERDICT A smart narrative and skillfully done illustrations make this introduction to Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement one all libraries will want to consider.Tamara Saarinen, Pierce County Library, WA

A complex piece of history is told in simple language.This nonfiction beginning reader highlights the role of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the March on Washington on Aug., 28, 1963. It also features a constellation of other activists who fought for African-Americans' civil rights, some of whom the text names, such as gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who often inspired Dr. King through song before he spoke, as at the march. Other activists appear only in the illustrations, and Comport leaves it to the reader to figure out who they are, such as the iconic image of Ruby Bridges being accompanied from William Frantz Elementary School by federal marshals in New Orleans and Rosa Parks sitting on a front bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama. Unlike Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier's Martin's Big Words (2001), this snapshot of Dr. King's life does not include his assassination, but it also does not sugarcoat conflicts endemic to the civil rights movement. On one page, while a young black man waits to be served at a lunch counter, four young white men surround him in anger. On another, Dr. King sits thoughtfully behind jail bars. Comport's artfully textured illustrations, rendered in muted colors, capture both the time period and the mood of these emotionally charged scenes well.An excellent text to introduce nascent readers to Dr. King's story. (author's note) (Informational early reader. 6-9)