MARTIN LUTHER KING

A fine introduction to the life of King—lucid, real, captivating. Bray starts with King's early years in the American South, his exposure to segregation and racism, his schooling, and family life before detailing his civil rights experiences. In direct, punchy writing, Bray makes understandable the broadening of King's political work to include his antiwar activity and his war on poverty; she brings children into the political picture, explaining their roles in the protests (the Children's Crusade in Birmingham) and how vital their participation was in opening the eyes of complacent white Americans. Zeldis's folk art, gouache primitives that appear to the right of dense pages of text, are bright eye-catchers, dramatic in the events they depict, naive in style. She and Bray breathe new life into King's story, and into the details of the civil rights movement as well. (Chronology) (Picture book/biography. 7+)