ALA Booklist (Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 1996)

Ringgold has often used the metaphor of dreams to interpret events in her books. Here, she views the life of Martin Luther King through her impressionistic lens. The frame of the story is the narrator's dream, in which King is a child who must go to a segregated school and hear his daddy called boy. He watches police on horseback beat up protesters, and he is taken to prison, where his grandmother holds him and tries to explain segregation. As an adult, King helps Rosa Parks, makes his I Have A Dream speech, and is murdered. As the dream starts, all the people of the world carry their hate and prejudice in paper bags; at the book's conclusion, the people are willing to burn their bags. When they do, these words appear in the sky: Every Good Thing Starts with a Dream. Many children will willingly suspend disbelief and travel with the narrator through her reverie, but others may be confused by the way she plays with time. Like the folk-art images found in Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky (1992), Ringgold's pictures are strong and powerful, but here they are also dark and brooding, with grays, blacks, and blues predominating. Some pictures, especially the one of President Johnson as the only white face at King's funeral, do not work well within the confines of a biography, even one of the transcendental variety. There is an intensity to Ringgold's interpretation that will affect readers; the book catches the feel of Dr. King's life even if the fantasy framework overshadows the soul-stirring facts. Check the appended timeline for those. (Reviewed Feb. 15, 1996)

Horn Book

Using a sequence of multilayered dreams, Ringgold presents a personal picture-book biography of the civil rights leader that blends known details from his life with imagined incidents from his childhood. King's nonviolent efforts to end segregation come through clearly, and the book's message becomes more powerful and accessible with repeated readings. A chronology is included. Bib.

Kirkus Reviews

Ringgold embroiders her vision of King's life and message with scenes from a dream the narrator has had: Young Martin is turned away from a white school, gets caught up in a civil rights demonstration and is jailed, and marches with his parents in front of a huge crowd, all carrying bags of prejudice, ignorance, hate, violence and fear, which they intended to trade for hope, freedom, peace, awareness and love.'' She notes thatsome people had bigger bags than others, but everybody had something to trade.'' Her dream ends at King's funeral, with those bags in a huge pyre. Using a limited palette of subdued colors, Ringgold gives her scenes a simple, direct, childlike look, focusing attention on eloquent faces and large, particularly expressive eyes. This is her most accessible work since Tar Beach (1991), much less moiled and private than Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky (1992). (chronology) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)"

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

In a starred review, PW called this an """"innovative and stirring"""" biography, which offers a """"personal, heartfelt interpretation of King's legacy"""" through a boy's recounted dream. Ages 5-8. (Dec.)

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-In this fictionalized account of the major events in Dr. King's life, Ringgold retells his story as a dream sequence. Falling asleep while watching a TV program dedicated to King's memory, she imagines the civil rights advocate first as a young boy encountering racial hatred, insults, and degradation. Later, as an adult, he is shown as the familiar leader of his people. Intermingled with the biographical narrative is a recurring image of all the people in the world, representing every age, gender, race, and creed, coming together to trade their excess "baggage" of hate and prejudice for hope, freedom, peace, and love. The basic facts are here, but because of the literary device imposed upon the book, the chronology may be a bit difficult for young readers to follow. There are also some challenging words and concepts that will require adult explanation. King's message, contained in quotes from his "I Have a Dream" speech, is conveyed, but in attempting to include so much, the focus of the book is unclear. Ringgold once again achieves memorable pictorial success through her simple but powerful full-page paintings. In muting her palette to accommodate the serious nature of the subject, however, she does sacrifice some of the liveliness and vigor associated with her previous works. Books about the life and crusade of this celebrated African American hero abound. This addition to the canon would be useful where the demand for materials is high, and when used in conjunction with other biographies such as David Adler's A Picture Book of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Holiday, 1989). Martha Rosen, Edgewood School, Scarsdale, NY