Illustrated by Anastasia Magloire Williams (Scholastic, January 7, 2025)
With a unique mix of first-person narrative, hilarious comic panels, and essential facts, this picture book introduces young readers to a trailblazer of the civil rights movement. Anastasia Magloire Williams’s comic illustrations bring this icon to life, and engaging back matter instructs readers on how to be more like Martin.
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Starred review: This picture-book biography of Martin Luther King Jr. stands out among the crowd of books written for children about this civil rights hero because, in addition to its clear focus on pivotal moments in his activist career, it presents a host of illuminating details. For example, one small illustration captures the determination of Black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama, to uphold the bus boycott by showing a senior citizen riding a mule on the city streets instead of riding the bus. MLK’s own resilience is shown in how, when working on his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he wrote on toilet paper after running out of actual paper. King tells his own story here, starting moments before he begins his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the National Mall and then flashing back to the shaping experiences of his boyhood and adulthood. The emphasis is on MLK’s creative use of nonviolent protests, such as the bus boycott and the Selma-to-Montgomery marches. The illustrations’ dynamic lines and the design that includes vignettes at the bottom of the pages (like the one depicting segregation in the “white” and “colored” signs above water fountains) pack in much revelatory information. Material at book’s end features an inspiring “Be Like Martin” sidebar.
— Booklist
Dean Robbins’ immediately welcoming and dynamic first-person narration style not only draws young readers into Martin Luther King’s life and the history of the Civil Rights Movement, but also makes children feel that they have a personal connection with Dr. King’s legacy. Robbins’ clear writing makes it easy for children to digest and understand King’s nonviolent approach to protest as well as the social and legal issues of the time. Robbins ends on a note of hope and an invitation to readers to join others and use their talents to help make Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream come true. Anastasia Magloire Williams’ compelling illustrations are at once realistic and accessible for today’s visual learners. Her stirring depiction of Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at the 1963 March on Washington sets the tone for children to discover the impact King has had on people’s hearts, minds, and actions for more than 60 years. With its graphic-style illustrations and well-researched content, You Are a Star, Martin Luther King, Jr. is vibrant and captivating. The book offers exhilarating learning opportunities for individuals, classrooms, and homeschoolers and may spark extended study or activism for a favorite cause.
— Celebrate Picture Books