7 Kids Books About Equality & Leadership
We love these books for their resonant messages for kids toddlers all the way through tweens…
Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Alice Faye Duncan. This picture-book biography is wonderful introduction for young readers to learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rappaport pairs Dr. King’s words with vivid illustrations to tell the story of his life. Recommended for toddlers.
I am Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer. We can all be heroes. Even as a child, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shocked by the terrible and unfair way African-American people were treated. When he grew up, he decided to do something about it—peacefully, with powerful words. Recommended for preschool and younger elementary school readers.
Memphis Mountain and the Mountain Top by Alice Faye Duncan. This historical fiction picture book presents the story of nine-year-old Lorraine Jackson, who in 1968 witnessed the Memphis sanitation strike--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s final stand for justice before his assassination--when her father, a sanitation worker, participated in the protest. Recommended for elementary school readers.
Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney. This picture book is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement. Recommended for elementary school readers.
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh. Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California. Recommended for elementary school readers.
The Watsons go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis. Enter the hilarious world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. There's Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron, who's thirteen and an "official juvenile delinquent." When Byron gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up. Recommended for tween readers.
March by John Lewis. Discover the inside story of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of one of its most iconic figures, Congressman John Lewis. March is the award-winning, #1 bestselling graphic novel trilogy recounting his life in the movement, co-written with Andrew Aydin and drawn by Nate Powell. This commemorative set contains all three volumes of March in a beautiful slipcase. Recommended for teen readers.