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I Am #4
I Am Martin Luther King Jr. (I Am #4)
A brand-new biography series featuring some of the most important people from history and today. I helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. I am only 34 when I give the "I Have a Dream" speech. I am Martin Luther King Jr.Learn all about this heroic man, whose accomplishments are truly inspiring, in the continuation of Scholastic's latest biography I AM. This book will feature illustrations throughout, a timeline, an introduction to the people you'll meet in the book, maps, sidebars, and a top ten list of important things to know about Martin Luther King Jr.
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2012
14 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Grace Norwich
37 books15 followersGrace Norwich has written many books for young readers on a variety of topics, including health, fashion, animals, and more. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 24, 2020
A first-rate biography of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. unlike many which are given to hagiography, this book does a fine job of balancing his greatness with acknowledgment of his admittedly few character flaws.
The biography covers his ambitious childhood and youth, his drive for education and thirst for knowledge. It addresses his marriage with Coretta Scott King. While it doesn’t fully indulge in the problems of their marriage, it acknowledges the sacrifices she made for their relationship and her husband‘s work.
The biography does a good job of explaining that King was not always of one mind on many issues, that he was - to some extent - making it up as he went along and doing the best he could. That’s an important lesson for young people who are often given the idea that great people were always self-possessed and had a clear idea of who they were and what they were about. Most don’t. Most are muddling along the best they can, just like any of us. (Though, admittedly, some clearly muddle better than others, King notably among them.)
I also appreciate that this biography doesn’t short shrift the period after the March on Washington and Selma. He doesn’t ignore his failures in Chicago and his growing awareness that it wasn’t just a problem of race that was being dealt with, but a larger social and economic conflict that cut deeper.
All in all, this is about as fine a biography as one can expect for 4th grade level readers. Really, well done!
The biography covers his ambitious childhood and youth, his drive for education and thirst for knowledge. It addresses his marriage with Coretta Scott King. While it doesn’t fully indulge in the problems of their marriage, it acknowledges the sacrifices she made for their relationship and her husband‘s work.
The biography does a good job of explaining that King was not always of one mind on many issues, that he was - to some extent - making it up as he went along and doing the best he could. That’s an important lesson for young people who are often given the idea that great people were always self-possessed and had a clear idea of who they were and what they were about. Most don’t. Most are muddling along the best they can, just like any of us. (Though, admittedly, some clearly muddle better than others, King notably among them.)
I also appreciate that this biography doesn’t short shrift the period after the March on Washington and Selma. He doesn’t ignore his failures in Chicago and his growing awareness that it wasn’t just a problem of race that was being dealt with, but a larger social and economic conflict that cut deeper.
All in all, this is about as fine a biography as one can expect for 4th grade level readers. Really, well done!
September 9, 2020
As someone who’s learning all these history for the first time, I was totally moved by this book! I loved learning about the past movement to combat slavery even though it hasn’t ended yet until now. But just to see it all begin and to make sense of a lot of posts I see online, this book was just amazing!
August 15, 2024
Fast and you know it's something you can pick up when you wanna read something light
January 23, 2023
Read this aloud to my elementary aged kods for MLK Day. Concise with tidbits throughout, giving kids a taste of life in the sixties and other relevant happenings during the events of King's activism.
February 14, 2017
1. I Am Martin Luther King, Jr.
a. Author: Grace Norwich
b. Illustrator: Elisabeth Alba
2. Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc.
3. Copyright Date: 2012
4. Type of Book: Biography (male)
5. Age Level: 8-10 (Grades 3-5)
6. Themes: Civil Rights Movement, African American History, Change
7. Summary: This biography tells the story of Martin Luther King’s life from childhood and school days, to his efforts in the Civil Rights Movement. The book features various vocabulary terms, such as “racism” and “justice,” while giving students a glimpse of the discrimination and segregation that was so prominent during his life.
8. Instructional Activity: After reading the book, students will watch Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream,” and will then write their own poems about what dreams they, too, may have. After every student has created his/her own poem, have a candle lit ceremony during MLK week in which students may choose to share their poem if they so desire. This activity will show students that small ideas can make a big impact in one’s community, just like MLK did.
a. Author: Grace Norwich
b. Illustrator: Elisabeth Alba
2. Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc.
3. Copyright Date: 2012
4. Type of Book: Biography (male)
5. Age Level: 8-10 (Grades 3-5)
6. Themes: Civil Rights Movement, African American History, Change
7. Summary: This biography tells the story of Martin Luther King’s life from childhood and school days, to his efforts in the Civil Rights Movement. The book features various vocabulary terms, such as “racism” and “justice,” while giving students a glimpse of the discrimination and segregation that was so prominent during his life.
8. Instructional Activity: After reading the book, students will watch Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream,” and will then write their own poems about what dreams they, too, may have. After every student has created his/her own poem, have a candle lit ceremony during MLK week in which students may choose to share their poem if they so desire. This activity will show students that small ideas can make a big impact in one’s community, just like MLK did.
February 23, 2017
I feel that this author could of added more info on his backround and his family. Other than that, I feel that the book was okay and good but I feel it needed more info and juicy details. This book was about Martin Luther King Jr. and how he grew up with racsim in his town. Go on an experience of the life and bad things that were happening in Martin Luther Kings life. That is why I give this book a 4 star rating.
November 6, 2015
I learned a lot from this book. Before I read this book I thought I knew a lot about Martin Luther king Jr. But know I know I didn't know as much as I thought I did. In fact before I read this book all I really knew about Martin Luther King Jr was that he said speech about his dream and that Rosa Parks refused to ride the bus. If I hadn't read this book I wouldn't have known that Martin Luther King Jr married Coretta Scott and they had 4 children, or that Martin got arrested many times for protesting for black rights. This book has an important lesson, the lesson is that you should believe in yourself and fight for freedom. Martin Luther King Jr never gave up even when he was arrested and people bombed up his front porch. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Martin Luther King Jr and what he did for this country.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2016
I thought that I already knew a lot about Martin Luther King Jr. but I learned a lot about him in this short book. He always stood up for what he believed in. Even though he got arrested for standing up for himself and other people. He fought for his freedom and for what was right. I also learned that he had a family and children of his own. I thought that it's scary that people are willing to try and hurt other people just because they have different beliefs and opinions. Overall this book was alright and I learned a lot more.
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March 21, 2015The twin text I chose is "I Have a Dream" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I chose this book because it's a summary of Dr. King's speech. It is connected because the book "I Am Martin Luther King, Jr." talks about his speech.
There are a combination of text structures in this book. It is descriptive, in chronological sequence and cause and effect.
The students will make connections between the books by being able to read Dr. King's speech.
There are a combination of text structures in this book. It is descriptive, in chronological sequence and cause and effect.
The students will make connections between the books by being able to read Dr. King's speech.
May 3, 2013
I read this to my 8 and 10 year old sons. It was a good review of MLK's life and his accomplishments. We are going to see The Mountaintop performance tonight and I wanted them to have a review of his life. We all enjoyed this book. We've read one other in this series and there are a few more on our to read list.
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December 18, 2015This is a book that explains the life of Martin Luther King Jr. It would be a great book to use when introducing him and his life. It explains everything he did and what he stood for. This is a great book for a social studies unit and talking about the life of a famous american and the impact that he had on our society.
July 31, 2016
Excellent YA nonfiction about Dr. King. Covers all the main highlights of his life, as well as milestones in the Civil RIghts Movement. It even touches on the Black Power! Movement and the Watts Riot. Well written and well done. My little historian loved it.
May 6, 2015
I have to say that I didn't know much about Martin Luther King Jr. before I read this book. It was really easy to understand, yet had a lot of information. I recommend this book, because it will bring you back in history.
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April 19, 2016I've always enjoyed learning about black history and the heart-wrenching stories that many African Americans had to go through in the 50s and 60s. MLK Jr was the voice of a generation of black people enduring hardships in the south during some of the most turbulent years of America's history.
November 18, 2013
I am liking these biographies. Would be good for research because they are quick reads and easy to understand. I like the timelines and the cool facts in the back of the book.
February 7, 2015
This is a great book for third to fifth grade. It can be used as a supplement to further understanding of Martin Luther King Jr. or for individual reading if learning about influential people.
January 19, 2016
This is a terrific book it's one of the best I have read
July 2, 2016
This is a short book, very easy to read and has some nice illustrations. We learn important facts about Martin Luther King, from birth till his death.
January 2, 2023
very good👍
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January 12, 2018Great book to read
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