Words of wisdom from Martin Luther King Jr.

I was searching for a present for my friend Bradley, who just had his 9^th birthday, when I found a winner.

The book Martin’s Big Words—The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport is a Caldecott Honor Book, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book and a Child Magazine Best Book.

I bought a copy for Bradley and a copy for myself.

In the book, Rappaport tells how, as a child, Martin saw signs that said “White Only” and felt bad until he remembered what his mother told him: “You are as good as anyone.”

Martin studied the teachings of Gandhi and said: “Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”

The book tells how Rosa Parks inspired the black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama, to boycott the buses for 381 days in 1955, walking to work, school and church in the rain and cold and in the blistering heat.

Martin Luther King Jr. told them: “When the history books are written, someone will say there lived black people who had the courage to stand up for their rights.”

–Joy