UPDATED - Diverse K-8 Books Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Legacy

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Bolden, Tonya. (2007). M.L.K: The Journey of a King. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams.

Bray, Rosemary. (1997). Martin Luther King. Paintings by Malcah Zeldis. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

Colbert, Jan. (2000). Dear Dr. King: Letters from Today's Children to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Disney Press.

Fandel Jennifer (2006). Martin Luther King, Jr. Great Civil Rights Leader. Illustrated by Brian Bascale. MN: Capstone Press.
Farris, Christine King. (2008). March On!: The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World. Illustrated by London Ladd. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Farris, Christine King. (2006). My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Illustrated by Chris Soentpiet. New York, NY: Aladdin.

from I See the Promised Land

Flowers, Arthur. (2013). I See the Promised Land: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Illustrated by Manu Chitraker. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. (2007). I Have a Dream. Illustrated by various artists. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Marzollo, Jean.  (2006). Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King. Illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Medearis, Angela. (2004). Just For You! Singing for Dr. King. Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. New York: Scholastic.

Michelson, Richard. (2013). As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Hesch Amazing March Toward Freedom.  Illustrated by Raul Colon. New York, NY: Knopf.

Myers, Walter Dean. (2012). I’ve seen the Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Illustrated by Leonard Jenkins. New York, NY: Amistad.

Bryan Collier. From Martin's Big Words

Rappaport, Doreen. (2007). Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York, NY: Hyperion.

Ringgold, Faith. (1998). My Dream of Martin Luther King. New York, NY: Dragonfly Books.

Watkins, Angela Farris. (2010). My Uncle Martin’s Big Heart. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. New York, NY: Abrams Books.

Watkins, Angela Farris. (2014). My Uncle Martin’s Words for America: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Niece Tells How He Made a Difference. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. New York, NY: Abrams Books.

Watkins, Angela Farris. (2014). Love Will See You Through: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Six Guiding Beliefs (as told by his niece). Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport. New York:  Simon & Schuster Books .

Books about the courage to stand up against oppression, with an emphasis on The Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s.

Adoff, Arnold. (2000). Malcolm X. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Asim, Jabari. (2016). Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of John Lewis. Illustrated y E.B. Lewis.New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books.
Bausum, Ann. (2005). Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front lines of the Civil Rights. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Books.

Benson, Kathleen. (2011). John Lewis in the Lead: A Story of the Civil Rights Movement. Illustrated by Benny Andrews. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books.

Bernier-Grand, Carmen.I 2011).  Cesar! Si, Se Puede! Yes We Can. Illustrated by David Diaz. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish.

Bolden, Tonya. (2005). Portraits of African American Heroes. Illustrated by Ansel Potcairn. New York, NY: Puffin.

Bridges, Ruby. (1999). Through My Eyes. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Brimmer, Larry Dane. (2010). Birmingham Sunday. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.

Joe Cepeda. From Side by Side

Brown, Monica. (2010). Side by Side/Lado a lado: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez/La historia de Delores Huerta y Cesar Chavez. Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. New York, NY: Rayo.

Bullard, Sara. (1994). Free at Last: The History of the Civil Rights Movement and Those Who Died in the Struggle. New York, NY: Oxford Press.

Cook, Michelle. (2009). Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change. Multiple Illustrators. Bloomsbury Books.

Crowe, Chris. (2009). Thurgood Marshall. New York, NY: Viking Juvenile.

Crowe, Chris. (2003). Mississippi Trial 1955. New York, NY: Speak.

Crowe, Chris. (2003). Getting Away with Murder. New York, NY: Dial.

Evans, Shane. (2016). We March. New York, NY: Square Fish.
Fradin, Dennis Brindell. (2004. The Power of One: Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine. Illustrated by Judith Bloom Fradin. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Fradin, Dennis Brindell. (2000). Ida B. Wells: Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. Illustrated by Judith Bloom Fradin. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Giovanni, Nikki. (2007). Rosa. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York, NY: Square Fish.

Grant, Joanne. (1998). Ella Baker: Freedom Bound. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Note: This is an adult text. The opening chapter would make for a good read aloud as it chronicles Ella Baker's childhood influences.

Greenberg, Dave. (2008). A Tugging String: A Novel about Growing Up During the Civil Rights Era. New York, NY: Dutton.

Greenfield, Eloise. (2009.) Paul Robeson. Illustrated by George Ford. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books.

Griswold del Castillo, Richard. (2008). Cesar Chavez: The Struggle for Justice/Cesar Chavez: La lucha por la justicia. Illustrated by Anthony Accardo. El PasoPaso, TX: Pinata Books.

Haskins, Jim. (2008). Delivering Justice: W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights. Illustrated by Benny Andrews. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Hogan, Wesley C. (2009). Many Minds, One Heart: SNCC' s Dream. University of North Carolina Press. Note: Nonfiction text that explores what the Student nonviolent Coordinating Committee achieved between 1960 and 1965. Sections can be read aloud.

Hoose, Philip. (2010). Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Hughes, Langston. (2012).  I, Too, Am America. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books.

Johnson, Angela. (2007). A Sweet Smell of Roses. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Books.

Johnson, Troy. (2007). Red Power: The Native American Civil Rights Movement. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publications.

Kittinger, Jo S. (2017). Rosa's Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights. Illustrated by Steven Walker. PA: Calkins Creek.
Krull, Kathleen. (2003). Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales. San Diego, CA: Harcourt.
Krull, Kathleen. (2015). Women Who Broke the Rules: Coretta Scott King. Illustrated by laura Freeman. Bloomsbury USA Childrens.

Levine, Ellen. 2000. Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories. New York, NY: Puffin.

Levinson, Cynthia. (2017). The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist. Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Lewis, John & Andrew Aydin. (2016). March (Trilogy). Illustrated by Nate Powell. Top Shelf Productions.
Magoon, Kekla. (2010). The Rock and the River. New York, NY: Aladdin.

Malaspina, Ann. 2009. Finding Lincoln. Illustrated by Colin Bootman New York, NY: Albert Whitman.

McKissack, Patricia C. (2016). Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt. Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. New York, NY: Dragonfly Books.

McKissack, Patricia C. (2005). Abby Takes a Stand. Illustrated by Gordon C. James. New York, NY: Viking.

McWhorter, Diane.  (2004). A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968. New York, NY: Scholastic.

McWhorter, Diane. (2013). Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climatic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Note: Adult text. Sections would make for excellent read aloud. Could be paired with Weatherford's Birmingham, 1963.

Michelson, Richard. (2010). Busing Brewster. Illustrated by R.G. Roth. NY: Knopf.

Morrison, Toni. (2003). Remember: The Journey to School Integration. San Diego, CA: Houghton.

Mulholland, Loki & Angela Fairwell. (2016). She Stood for Freedom: The Untold Story of a Civil Rights Hero, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. Illustrated by Charlotta Janssen. Shadow Mountain. 
Myers, Walter Dean. (2015). Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told. Illustrated by Bonnie Christensen. New York, NY: Amistad.

Myers, Walter Dean. (2003). Malcolm X: A Fire Burning Brightly. Illustrated by Leonard Jenkins. New York, NY: Amistad.

Nelson, Marilyn. 2005. A Wreath for Emmett Till. Illustrated by Philippe Lardy. New york, NY: Graphia.

Partridge, Elizabeth. 2009. Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don't You Grow Weary. New York, NY: Viking.

Parks, Rosa and Gregory J. Reed. 1997. Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue with Today’s Youth. New York: Lee & Low Books.

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2010). Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York, NY: Little Brown Books for Young Readers.

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2008). Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. NY: Greenwillow.

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2013). Let it Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters. Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. San Diego, CA: Harcourt. Note: A book written for children that focuses on ten women offering biographical sketches about each: Sojourner Truth, Biddy Mason, Harriet Tubman, Ida B, Wells-Barnett, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ella Josephine Baker, Dorothy Irene Height, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Shirley Chisholm. Wonderful source for a daily read a loud.

Ramsey, Calvin Alexander. (2011). Belle, The Last Mule at Gee's Bend: A Civil Rights Story. Illustrated by Bettye Sound and John Holyfield. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

Ramsey, Calvin Alexander. (2010). Ruth and the Green Book. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda.

Rappaport, Doreen. (2005). The School Is Not White! A True Story of the Civil Rights Movement. Illustrated by Curtis James. New York: Jump at the Sun.

Rappaport, Doreen. (2006). Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round: Stories and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement. Illustrated by Shane W. Evans.  Cambridge. MA: Candlewick Press.

Reynolds, Aaron. (2010). Back of the Bus. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. New York, NY: Philomel.

Ringgold, Faith. (2003). If a Bus Could Talk, The Story of Rosa Parks. New York, NY: Aladdin.

Shabazz, Ilyasah. (2016). Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X . Illustrated by AG Ford.  New York, NY: 
Shange, Ntozake. (2009). Coretta Scott. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. New York, NY: Katherine Tegen.

Shange, Ntozake. (2004). Ellington was Not a Street.  Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Shelton, Paula Young. ( 2010). Child of the Civil Rights Movement. Illustrated by Raul Colon. New York, NY: Schwarz & Wade.

Stokes, John A, Herman Viola and Lois Wolfe. (2007).  Students on Strike: Jim Crow, Civil Rights, Brown and Me. Washington, D.C. National Geographic.

Thomas, Joyce Carol, ed. (2003). Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone. The Brown V. Board of Education. Illustrations by Curtis James. New York: Jump at the Sun.

Tillage, Leon. (2000). Leon's Story. Illustrated by Susan Roth. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Tonatiuh, Duncn. (2014). Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation.  New York: NY: Harry N. Abrams .
Walker, Paul Robert. (200)9. Remember the Little Rock Nine: The Time, The People, The Stories. Washington, D.C. National Geographic. 

Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2007). Freedom on  the Menu: The Greenboro Sit-Ins. Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue. New York, NY: Puffin.

Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2007. Birmingham, 1963. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong.

Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2015). Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement. Illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Candlewick.

Whitt, Margaret Early (Ed.). 2006.  Short Stories of the Civil Rights Movement: An Anthology. Atlanta, GA: University of Georgia Press .(Adult)

Wiles, Deborah. (2010). Countdown (Sixties Trilogy). New York, NY: Scholastic.

Wiles, Deborah. (2001). Freedom Summer. Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue. New York, NY: Atheneum.

Williams, Juan. (1988). Eyes on the Prize: The Civil Rights Years, 1954-1968. New York, NY: Penguin. Note: Adult text: Selections make for important read aloud sources.

Williams-Garcia. Rita. (2010). One Crazy Summer. New York, NY: Amistad.