I Have A Dream Blog Tour: Review & Guest Post

Welcome to my stop on the I Have a Dream blog tour being presented by Random House Children's Books! This year, August 28^th is the 50^th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s landmark “I Have a Dream” speech, a watershed moment in the struggle for civil rights. Random House has also launched a new and enhanced website for "I Have a Dream" and other ongoing promotions throughout the month of August. Check out the site HERE. Help us commemorate this inspirational speech and the Civil Rights Movement!!

On my tour stop, I will be reviewing the picture book, I HAVE A DREAM, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s celebrated speech illustrated with exquisite paintings by celebrated artist and Caldecott Honor winner Kadir Nelson, which Random House published last year. I also have a special guest post by author A.J. Paquette on what the speech means to her!

I Have a Dream

Author: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

Release Date: October 9, 2012

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books

Description:

A Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book

From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s daughter, Dr. Bernice A. King: “My father’s dream continues to live on from generation to generation, and this beautiful and powerful illustrated edition of his world-changing "I Have a Dream" speech brings his inspiring message of freedom, equality, and peace to the youngest among us—those who will one day carry his dream forward for everyone.”

On August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Martin Luther King gave one of the most powerful and memorable speeches in our nation's history. His words, paired with Caldecott Honor winner Kadir Nelson's magnificent paintings, make for a picture book certain to be treasured by children and adults alike. The themes of equality and freedom for all are not only relevant today, 50 years later, but also provide young readers with an important introduction to our nation's past. Included with the book is an audio CD of the speech. 

This picture book contains part of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The speech is split up in an easy to read way that makes it great for young/new readers or for reading aloud. The selection that was chosen highlights the inspirational and well known words of the speech, which shows the dream of equality that King had for America's future. Even though this is a children's picture book, the words still resonated with strength and hope - I was reminded of what an amazing speech this was and how important it was to our nation at a critical time during the Civil Rights Movement. 

The illustrations throughout the book are simply amazing! They are full of vibrant color and depictions of scenes that King mentions in the speech. The illustrations are detailed yet soft, perhaps done in watercolor. There are illustrations on each page in the book and most cover the entirety of the page. They will definitely catch and hold a child's attention while the book is being read. In addition to the main book, the speech in its entirety is printed at the end of the story and there was also a CD of the original speech spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. This would be a fantastic tool for use in the classroom to teach children about King and his speech, along with the Civil Rights Movement. It's a beautifully illustrated book that adult can enjoy as well, remembering the hope and inspiration that the speech instilled in so many people. Very highly recommended for teachers, parents of young children, and readers of all ages!

Have a Dream? Pass It On.

By A. J. Paquette 

Fifty years ago, four simple words rocked a nation: I have a dream. It’s a simple thing, a dream. It springs from the dark, grows in the stillness; then, sometimes, it bursts into a flame that can light up a whole landscape.


As a nation, we have come a long way since Dr. Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial proclaiming his own heartfelt vision. As people, we have an incredibly long way still to go. Nobody who watches the news on a regular basis, nobody who has access to Twitter or Facebook or any other source of social media could say that humanity has arrived at a place where all people are embraced as equals.


Yet while the haters are never far from our sight, that’s only part of the picture. And, against the darkness of ignorance and superstition and negativity and outright evil, the splashes of light stand out sharp and bright.


A teenager on his bicycle chases down a car until the kidnapped child within is let go unharmed. Thousands of strangers pool their funds online to fulfill a child’s lifelong dream of spending a week with his very own horse. A teacher faces down a gunman, sheltering her students with her own body and giving her life for theirs.


These are just a few events, a split-second decision by one person to follow that inner voice that calls for freedom, that calls for equality, that calls them to do what they can, whether their reach is great or small. Each event is self-contained; yet each is like a tiny flame that fans the dream within each one of us. The dream that will “transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.” The dream that humanity is greater than the sum of its differences; that we are, at heart, one family.


Does it seem ridiculous? Impossible? Far-fetched? I have a dream, too. I suspect that, deep down, most of us do. The difference—and the choice that each of us face, every day—comes in whether we will take that dream, infuse it with action, and let it come to life around us.


“And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.”


I firmly believe that it is, that it will be, that it cannot help but be if we—each one of us—look for that dream in our own hearts, reach out, and pass it on. 

Well said A.J.! I agree completely - pass it on people! :)