"Love is the key"

Today schools, banks, government offices and many more are given the day off in honor of an extraordinary man and his dream.  Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who gave our nation so much hope and love, that he deserves more than one day to be honored.

Reading aloud a book to your child about MLK might seem like an insignificant way to honor such a significant person in our nation's history, but without reading aloud and discussing who MLK was your child may never understand the importance of his movement.

My favorite book to read aloud to children about MLK is Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier.  This book so elegantly and simply tells the story of Dr. King's life from childhood until he was taken from this world much too early.  Intertwined in the text are actual quotes and words of MLK.  His own words flow so smoothly with Rappaport's words and adds so much richness to the story. I like that this story tells of Martin as a child because I think that helps children to relate to him even more.  To make the story even more more appealing the illustrations by Collier are amazing.  At the beginning of the book Collier discusses his inspiration for the collages used through out the book, which makes the art speak to you almost as much as the words.

Today would also be a good day to share with kids MLK's most famous speech, "I Have A Dream." Of course you can find a lot of variations on YouTube but there is one very simple video found at Readeez.  This video has one simple picture and you can hear about 1 minutes and 42 seconds of his speech.  The words simple and slowly flow across the screen so older children can follow along with what MLK was saying.  Check it out sometime.

So, today many have been given the entire day off- let's do something that would make Dr. King proud.  Help a neighbor, send a care package to the soldiers, make a meal for someone in need, READ a book to someone.  Dr. King said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"  What will you do for others today?

Happy Reading!
Laura

Dream Day

Fifty years ago today Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington.  What Martin Luther King Jr. said then still resonates with us now, 50 years later. We all have dreams of the world that we want to live in.

I wanted to share a book today that supports Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream.  I had several different options but decided to go with Somewhere Today A Book of Peace by Shelley Moore Thomas.

This book is simple enough to share with young children but also deep enough to share with older children.  It has a very rhythmic text and beautiful photographs which makes it perfect to read aloud. The book give different examples of kindness and peacemaking that can happen anywhere in our world.  Maybe somewhere today someone is planting a tree or maybe someone else is being a friend instead of fighting.  The simplicity in the actions is what makes the book so beautiful.

Peace isn't about grandiose actions, it is about the small things that we can do everyday.  Martin Luther King Jr.  had a dream for our nation.  My dream is simple, that everyone take the time to share a book with a child!  What is your dream?

Happy Reading!

Laura