Martin Rising: Requiem for a King

Written by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Paintings by Brian Pinkney

This is a profound presentation of the last two months of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, written in poetry form. The backdrop is the 1968 sanitation worker’s strike in Memphis, but this weighty book also devotes pages to King’s boyhood, his family and friends, and his life’s mission. The descriptive poetry tells King’s story in a way that regular prose couldn’t, and the illustrations have an ethereal, abstract beauty that spins a dream-like world, a world filled with metaphors. Created by the wife and husband team, Andrea and Brian Pinkney, the poetry and the artwork go together perfectly, The back of the book contains biographical information about King, including important photos. There is also a timeline of King’s life and a timeline of the events in 1968 covered in the poetry. Each poem could be read on its own, but taken as a whole, this is a truly beautiful memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. I highly recommend this for all libraries.

Review by Andrea LeBaron, Upland Terrace Media Center
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: 4th grade – Adult

Martin Rising: Requiem for a King
Written by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Paintings by Brian Pinkney
Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
127 pages
Release Date: January 2, 2018
A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Tags:

1968, African American Biography, African-american studies, Biography, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Movement, History, Martin Luther King Jr., Memphis, Poetry, sanitation workers, Segregation, Tennessee, U.S. History