Happy Birthday, Dr. King: Celebrations (Paperback) - Softcover

Floyd Cooper received a Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations in The Blacker the Berry and a Coretta Scott King Honor for his illustrations in Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea and I Have Heard of a Land. Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mr. Cooper received a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and, after graduating, worked as an artist for a major greeting card company. In 1984 he came to New York City to pursue a career as an illustrator of books and now lives in Easton, Pennsylvania, with his wife and children.

Ages 5-8. Fourth-grader Jamal Wilson has two assignments at the end of school. He must think about a plan for the Martin Luther King Jr. assembly, and he must take home a pink slip from the principal for fighting with another boy to sit on the bus' backseat. Bristling at Jamal's failure to understand the irony of an African American boy fighting to sit at the back of the bus, Grandpa Joe explains about the Montgomery bus boycott and its leaders Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and helps Jamal to turn his two assignments into one. With beautiful pastel illustrations aglow in tones of honey gold, this is a lovely picture book with a warm and simple story that will help young children understand the importance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. And since the story is told mainly through dialogue, it is easily converted into a skit appropriate for celebrating the holiday--just as Jamal decides to do. Pair this holiday story with Jean Marzollo's picture-book biography Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King (1992). The book includes a thematic five-word glossary and some historical photographs. This is part of the Multicultural Celebrations series created under the auspices of the Children's Museum, Boston. Annie Ayres