A Picture Book of Martin Luther King - Reflections On

Experiencing A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. With Children
Guest post by D.A. Smith

Reviewing a children’s book can sometimes present challenges beyond the scope of reflecting on the images and sometimes rhyming words used to entertain and teach our youngest members of society. There are well known childhood favorites, whimsical fantasies, fairy tales, sweet bedtime stories and endearing characters to choose from, and then there are books that conjure more silence than laughter.
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For me and my children, few words were needed to express the thoughts and emotions that came from reading David A. Adler’s A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Robert Casilla. 

​It’s not that the book isn’t beautiful, it is. The writing was not too complicated, it was clear, and the story was easy to understand even for… a child. And maybe that in itself is the reason so few words came. We got it. A boy, a faithful boy, grew into a man who changed the course of history through bold acts of strength and love, and he died at the hands of someone who was guided by fear, anger and dare I say, hate. 

When my youngest looked up at me after the story and said, “Wait. So, the boys' parents didn’t want them to play with Martin because of his skin color?” I could only answer, “Yes. That’s what I understand.” to which my eldest said “I am so glad we don’t live like that anymore.” To her I said “Well, it’s because of men like Martin Luther King, Jr. that we don’t” She then got up and went to her room, presumably to think while she worked on a friendship bracelet. 

What I kept to myself the morning we read Adler’s book is a truth as simple and as old as recorded history can confirm. Human hearts are messy. Thinking of other people as different as we are, whether because of skin color, religious affiliations, political allegiances, languages or even economic standing is a fool's game. What we hold in common is far more profound, and that is something Martin Luther King Jr. understood. Love is the answer.