Children’s Books for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

When I’m expecting, I read books to the kids about being a big sibling. When my husband deployed, we read books for kids about deployment. It makes sense, then, that as we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and reflect on his impact on our country that we read relevant books to our kids. Here are a list of some age-appropriate books for kids to start a discussion about Martin Luther King, Jr and why we celebrate him.

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a picture book biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport ($7.99). The Caldecott Award winning book also features art by acclaimed illustrator Bryan Collier.

A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Picture Book Biographies) is an illustrated, easy-to-read biography that explains Dr. King’s life from his childhood through his assassination. ($7.95)

The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. is a board book appropriate for children even as young as 2 ($6.95) It tells the story of Dr. King from his youth in easy to understand language.

For grade school aged children, check out Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? ($4.99). From the Who Was? series, the book tells the story of Dr. King in straightforward language and also includes black and white illustrations.

Because we’ve moved a lot my kids have been exposed to a lot of different children of different skin colors. But, some places we’ve lived have been very, well, white. Of Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children the School Library Journal says, “The beauty of African-American children is celebrated in this joyous picture book. Wonderful, clear, full-color photographs of youngsters illustrate a poetic, vivid text that describes a range of skin and eye colors and hair textures…. An affirmative message for children of all races.” ($6.99)

We’re lucky to have the Rosa Parks Museum in town, but here’s a great book told from the perspective of a bus learning about Rosa Parks. If A Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks by Faith Ringgold ($7.99)