MMGM: Martin Luther King Day books

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Alas, I had plans to highlight the new Christopher Paul Curtis book today, but it’s been a busy week getting ready for the Darcy Pattison retreat. So, although I haven’t finished Curtis’ book yet, that post is in the works. So, today, I’m going to do  a “best of” post and point to some of my favorite books I reviewed last year, particularly books which deal with racism and/or civil rights.

What I love about all these books is that the Civil Rights movement and/or racism are told through the eyes of a child. We, as readers, get to experience their "awakening" to injustice right alongside them and their heartache when parents or trusted adults don't see things the same way.

Click on the titles to go to my initial feature and a longer review.

GLORY BE (August Scattergood)

--This book is the most accessible to younger readers. It has the least amount of violence of all the books I’m highlighting here. Glory also has the youngest-sounding voice. If you have younger students or children, this would be a good first look at the Civil Rights movement/segregation. Glory's character and voice are so endearing, it’s hard not to love her.

LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK (Kristin Levine)

--This is the only “new” book or previously reviewed book on my list. I read this last year, after GLORY BE, and at first, didn’t like it as well. It’s definitely for an older audience as it has more middle school issues. What I loved: the friendship between Marlee and Liz, Marlee's giftedness at math,  and the honest portrayal of Marlee’s mother’s racism and her subsequent growth as a character. This book is more in depth than Glory B, is darker in tone, but it also tells the story of two brave girls trying to change the world.

Caveat: Unfortunately, the n word is used in this book.

THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM—1963 (Christopher Paul Curtis)

--This is not a new book (1995), but it is one of my favorites about this time period. Kenny, like Glory and Marlee, is just awakening to what’s going on in his country. He and his family have been living in Michigan, but when they travel south to Birmingham, he learns firsthand about segregation and church bombings.  What I love about this book is its humor and the quirky and loveable Watson family. I don’t think there are parents in literature I love as much as the Watsons.

*The movie of the book is on Netflix right now. I liked how it kept to the story of the book, but added more about segregation and the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham.

PAPERBOY (Vince Vawter)

This won the Newberry Honor last year, and it was well-deserved. What I loved about this book is its theme of seeing beyond the surface. The Civil Rights movement is more in the background than the other books I’ve featured here. It’s more about the narrator’s finding a touch point with his African-American maid. Yes, he awakens to her plight, but it’s more about how her strength in the face of adversity helps him to deal with his stuttering.

ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY (Mildred Taylor)

This book is not about the Civil Rights movement. It takes place earlier, in the 1930s, and it one of the finest books I’ve read on racism. Though it takes place well before the Martin Luther King era, it shows why the Civil Rights movement had to happen. This is perhaps the most violent of all the books I’ve featured, but it is the most unflinching in portraying how things truly were for African-Americans.  I felt like I was awakened to the depths of the injustice in Cassie’s world along with her. A must read.

What are your favorite books about Civil Rights?

Stay tuned for a post about the Darcy Pattison retreat in the next few weeks.

If you're looking for Marvelous Middle Grade suggestions, check out Shannon Messenger's blog.