Instead of telling the life story of Martin Luther King, Jr., this book from the All Aboard Reading series focuses on one significant event: the 1963 March on Washington. Ruffin does a good job of developing several threads that led up to the I Have a Dream speech, including segregation and protests against it, and Dr. King's civil rights movement. The remainder of the book offers the hopeful message that the day's events made a significant difference because they led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Paintings provide vivid portrayals of people and events. Used in conjunction with black-and-white period photos, they illustrate the text quite effectively. The book could also be used with older classes as an introduction to the I Have a Dream speech, which is so often presented with very little context, as a way of celebrating King's birthday or Black History Month.

[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.

<p>This early reader is an excellent introduction to the March on Washington in 1963 and the important role in the march played by Martin Luther King Jr. Ruffin gives the book a good, dramatic start: "August 28, 1963. It is a hot summer day in Washington, D.C. More than 250,00 people are pouring into the city." They have come to protest the treatment of African-Americans here in the US. With stirring original artwork mixed with photographs of the events (and the segregationist policies in the South, such as separate drinking fountains and entrances to public buildings), Ruffin writes of how an end to slavery didn't mark true equality and that these rights had to be fought fora"through marches and sit-ins and words, particularly those of Dr. King, and particularly on that fateful day in Washington. Within a year the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been passed: "It does not change everything. But it is a beginning." Lots of visual cues will help new readers through the fairly simple text, but it is the power of the story that will keep them turning the pages. (Easy reader. 6-8)</p>

Gr 1-3 This series entry covers the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom of August 28, 1963, and includes a brief historical perspective on the segregation and discrimination that preceded this event. One high point is the excellent and easy-to-understand description in words and pictures of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Ruffin's clear, readable text is a fine example of how short, simple sentences can be used effectively to tell a complex story. A good model for nonfiction picture books, this title uses numerous informative illustrations to supplement a spare but factual text. The illustrations are a combination of vintage black-and-white photographs and expressive full-color paintings. A must-purchase for both school and public libraries. Eunice Weech, M. L. King Elementary School, Urbana, IL