ALA Booklist (Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2003)

Dr. Martin Luther King is perhaps the most frequently requested biography subject, so there's always room for another book about the heroic leader, especially when it's a picture-book biography as good as this one. The focus here is on his public image, and words and art combine the essentials of his life story with an overview of the civil rights movement. Jenkins' dramatic, double-page collage illustrations set close-up portraits of the leader against crowd scenes of political marches and violent conflict. Then, after the glory of the March on Washington, there's a double-page spread showing the horror of the Birmingham deaths. The book ends with King's assassination, but words and pictures show his strength and his enduring message against racism and for peace. This is for a younger audience than Myers and Jenkins' Malcolm X: A Fire Burning Brightly (2000). There's also much less here about the subject's personal struggle, but when read together, the two titles will stimulate debate about issues of protest and nonviolence.

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

[author2=illustrator2]Fifty-one traditional nursery rhymes including "Jack Sprat" and "The Cat and the Fiddle" are gathered here in an inexpensive book that will remind many readers of the classic black-and-white checked Mother Goose collection. This book has blue-and-white checks and simpering, amateurish art. There are too many excellent collections of nursery rhymes to bother with this one.

Kirkus Reviews

<p>Following up their portrait of Malcolm X (2000), Myers briefly traces Dr. King's career, and Jenkins adds kaleidoscopic collages that both depict major incidents and figures of the Civil Rights movement, and capture the time's turmoil. Dr. King certainly doesn't lack for biographers, but Myers is unusually even-handed, highlighting King's nonviolent philosophy while viewing the Movement's angrier, more violent outbursts with a certain degree ofa"not sympathy, exactly, but understanding. Though Jenkins's images are sometimes over the top, as when he outfits the four children killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing with angel wings, and Myers frequently slips paraphrased lines from Dr. King's speeches into his narrativea""He said that he had been to the mountaintop and seen the promised land. He knew he might not reach that land . . . "a"the balance of fact and feeling makes this a strong follow-up to Doreen Rappaport's Martin's Big Words (2002). (Picture book/biography. 5-8)</p>

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Although in their <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Malcolm X: A Fire Burning Brightly Myers and Jenkins concentrated a great deal on Malcolm X's childhood, in this concise chronicle of Martin Luther King Jr.'s crusade for civil rights, they highlight the pivotal points in his work. They begin with his role as leader of the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., sparked by Rosa Parks's arrest after she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. Mohandas Gandhi, Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy number among those whom the author cites as individuals who touched the life of this remarkable Nobel Peace Prize winner. Myers's balanced narrative touches upon King's triumphs (notably his renowned "I Have a Dream Speech," delivered during the 1963 March on Washington) as well as the hatred and brutality he endured during his lifetime. Jenkins's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">A Good Night for Freedom, reviewed above) mixed-media paintings are involving but never graphic (he illustrates assault by fire hose and dogs, for instance, with an abstract painting of shadowy silhouettes of policemen and a dog tugging a piece of clothing). This picture book soars to the heart of King's mission, demonstrating the challenges of adhering to nonviolent methods when faced with so much violence in return. Jenkins's boldly hued illustrations capture lifelike renderings of King and other prominent figures while also incorporating backgrounds with a kaleidoscopic amalgam of shapes and symbols. Ages 5-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Jan.)

School Library Journal (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

Gr 1-4 This eloquent picture book presents a brief overview of King's life and accomplishments. The text focuses on events beginning with the 1955 arrest of Rosa Parks and King's leadership during the yearlong boycott that eventually resulted in the integration of buses in Montgomery, AL. The book ends with his support of the striking sanitation workers in Memphis in 1968 and his assassination a few days later. In a clear and cogent manner, Myers frames King's political efforts and his belief in nonviolent demonstration for change with information about the personal consequences to the man and his family. The author also paraphrases some of his subject's most powerful speeches without quoting them directly. Jenkins's stunning collage artwork dramatically reflects the events described in the narrative. Information about how protestors were frequently assaulted is paired with an abstract street scene, the frighteningly toothy profile of a chalk-white guard dog front and center. In a spread depicting King's famous speech about seeing the promised land, he is shown with his arms gracefully yet compellingly uplifted; the power and beauty of his words are reflected in the brightly colored background, while fiery red tones foreshadow his murder. This book makes an excellent starting point to introduce young readers to King and should be coupled with Doreen Rappaport's Martin's Big Words (Hyperion, 2001), which so effectively provides access to the words that made him famous. Susan M. Moore, Louisville Free Public Library, KY