Greatness by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 40 pages, ages 4-8). When Nasir and Imani visit Grandma, she pulls out a special photo album handed down to her from her mother. Inside are photos of great people from Black history. The kids get out dress-up clothes and pretend to be Bessie Coleman, a Tuskegee Airmen, and business people from Black Wall Street. Then some magic happens, and they are pulled into the album, where they become the famous people in the photos, like Katherine Johnson, Barack Obama, Colin Kaepernick, and Ruby Bridges. For Grandma, though, nothing compares to the greatness she saw in the two babies pictured at the end–and after spending so much time imagining themselves among greatness, Imani and Nasir feel like nothing is impossible. Includes some photos and additional information about all the people from the photo album.
Every year, I gather books for our big Black History read-aloud, where community members come to our school and read to all the classes. It can be challenging to find books for the younger grades, and this one would make a great introduction to a wide variety of historical figures, encouraging kids to think about their own dreams. The photos of the kids dressed up are fun and inspiring, although I wish there had been photographs of all the famous people at the end.
Sharing the Dream by Shelia P. Moses, illustrated by Keith Mallett (Nancy Paulsen Books, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Agnes is excited to be on a bus with her parents, traveling from Birmingham, Alabama to Washington, D.C. in August, 1963 to attend the March on Washington. There’s a stop at Frederick Douglass’s house, where Agnes is amazed to see Black and white people drinking from the same water fountain. Then it’s on to the March, where Agnes sits on Daddy’s shoulders to hear John Lewis and Josephine Baker speak, and Mahalia Jackson sing. Finally, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. steps up to the podium. “Tell ’em about the dream,” Agnes hears Mahalia Jackson say, and Dr. King delivers his now-famous words about his dream. Afterwards, Agnes sees Black and white people sitting side by side, soaking their tired feet in the reflecting pool, before she and her parents get back on the bus heading home to Birmingham. Includes an author’s note and thumbnail profiles of six people at the March who are mentioned in the story.
I’m so happy to see this book describing the 1963 March on Washington from a young child’s perspective. Agnes is probably about six years old, telling about events in a way that primary students will understand. There’s plenty of information packed into her story, though, with an introduction to such celebrities of the time as Lena Horne, Sidney Poitier, and Jackie Robinson. The straightforward story and illustrations make this a perfect introduction to this important event from Black history.