Martin Rising: Requiem for a King

The grim task of writing about Dr. King's assassination is handled with great tenderness by this husband-and-wife team. Andrea Davis Pinkney's 39 poems sing, exhort, console, and illuminate. She explains the strike by sanitation workers that brought King to Memphis ("Come, / please come./ The strikers need you"), describes King's exhaustion, and celebrates his prophetic last speech ("I've seen the promised land," he says. "I may not get there with you"). Brian Pinkney paints with gentle, rounded strokes, alternating portraits with atmospheric, abstract washes. He shows King adjusting the knot of his tie on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, his gaze distant. Suddenly, there's a "Pop!" Deep emotion finds expression in impassioned bursts: "Angry fists alight with fire!/ Smashing glass!" The fairy tale hen, Henny Penny, appears throughout to warn and comfort in anguished moments: "She tries, oh, she tries/ to fly/ in the bullet's face." In the end, King's legacy offers redemption and hope: "And with love, we all shall rise." Written with an eye toward choral reading, this is a unique and remarkable resource. Ages 9-12. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Jan.)

Gr 4 Up—A powerful celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., set against the last few months of his life and written in verse. Divided into three sections, ("Daylight," "Darkness," and "Dawn"), Andrea Davis Pinkney's poems focus on the winter and spring of 1968, from King's birthday on January 15 through the horror of his assassination on April 4 and end with a tribute to his legacy of hope on Easter Sunday, April 14. The poems begin broadly, painting a portrait of spring emerging in Memphis as garbage collectors fight against discriminatory wage policies, ultimately bringing King to that city to organize and uplift the movement. But as the last moments of King's life tick away, the narrative zooms in, detailing the emotional beats of his final public speeches, the feverish exhaustion of long days and nights away from home, and the relief of stolen moments of leisure with his closest friends. Throughout, the crowds filling churches seeking inspiration and bravely marching in the face of violence are as much a part of the story as King himself. Brian Pinkney's watercolor, gouache, and India ink illustrations convey warm moments of victory and joy, as well as the darkness and chaos of loss, through swirls of color. Impressionistic brush-stroke portraits of King alternate with spreads full of faces listening, marching, and mourning. Back matter includes author and artist reflections, a time line, and additional historical information with photographs. VERDICT Beautifully illustrated and begging to be read aloud, this poetry collection is an exceptional classroom tool for civil rights lessons and offers much for individual readers to linger over.—Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN