From
Bogey Bear
While the full story of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. is a complex
story that ends with his tragic assassination, it is still an important
legacy to share with children. This picture book presents Dr. King's
work in a way that children can understand. More importantly, it
provides a great springboard to have a talk to children about equity,
justice, and freedom. The book is written in a way that allows a reader
to direct a meaningful conversation with a child to help them understand
why we have a national holiday in Dr. King's honor each and every
January.
About the Book
A brief, illustrated, biography of the Baptist minister and civil rights
leader whose philosophy and practice of nonviolent civil disobedience
helped American blacks win many battles for equal rights.
From Publishers Weekly
As with Adler's previous books in this series, the picture-book format
serves as a highly effective, empathetic way to introduce the life and
legacy of important Americans to young children. Here the highlights of
King's life are presented with an emphasis on his childhood and family.
Children will immediately relate to his painful early experiences of
racism and understand the genesis of his lifelong struggle for racial
equality. The book portrays the hatred King endured, the horror of his
assassination and the intense power of his message.
A single-page list of important dates closes the book. Its most striking aspect is Casilla's evocative watercolor paintings, which expand the text while celebrating the man. Ages 4-9. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 3-The life and times of the noted civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
About the Author
David Abraham Adler (born April 10, 1947) is the author of nearly 200
books for children and young adults, most notably the Cam Jansen mystery
series, the "Picture Book of..." series, and several acclaimed works
about the Holocaust for young readers. Adler was born in New York City,
New York. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's
degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as
a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while
taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was
awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question
from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first
story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in
1976.
Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year. Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.
Adler has three children and one grandson. He lives in Woodmere, New York. For more information about him and the fiction & nonfiction books he writes for children, please visit his website.
About the Illustrator
Robert Casilla was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to parents from Puerto
Rico. Like many children, Robert always loved to draw. As the new kid in
his second grade class, he recalls doing a drawing of two birds with
colored chalk on construction paper. His teacher noticed the drawing and
then told the class, "We have an artist in the class!" Robert is
thankful to her and all the teachers that motivated and helped him
realize he had talent as an artist.
Although he grew up in New Jersey, he did get to attend school in Puerto Rico as a fourth grader. His formal training in art took place at the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he earned a BFA degree. Since 1984, Robert has worked as a freelance illustrator for magazines, book publishers, postage stamps, educational publishers and others. He has illustrated over 25 children's books, many of which are picture book biographies of people such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks and John F. Kennedy. He has also illustrated many multicultural children's books such as Jalapeno Bagels,
The Little Painter of Sabana Grande, The Legend of Mexicatl and First Day in Grapes which won the Pura Belpré Honor Award. Robert visits many schools to talk about the visual journey a story takes him through to come up with the illustrations for his books. He also teaches art to young gifted artist one day a week. Robert lives and works from his home in New Fairfield, Connecticut with his wife and two children, 3 cats and his feisty shih tzu dog.