As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom - Hardcover

Michelson, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375833358 ISBN 13: 9780375833359

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2008

Synopsis

MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel. Their names stand for the quest for justice and equality.Martin grew up in a loving family in the American South, at a time when this country was plagued by racial discrimination. He aimed to put a stop to it. He became a minister like his daddy, and he preached and marched for his cause.Abraham grew up in a loving family many years earlier, in a Europe that did not welcome Jews. He found a new home in America, where he became a respected rabbi like his father, carrying a message of peace and acceptance.Here is the story of two icons for social justice, how they formed a remarkable friendship and turned their personal experiences of discrimination into a message of love and equality for all.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Michelson is an award-winning poet and children’s book author whose work has been praised by Elie Wiesel as “deeply moving.” He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Raul Colón is the recipient of both Gold and Silver Medals from the Society of Illustrators. He lives in New City, New York.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In this powerful, well-crafted story about a partnership between two great civil rights leaders, Michelson shows how the fight for human rights affects everyone. Martin Luther King and Polish rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel each grew up in a loving, religious household, where each was taught clear messages about self-respect. As an adult, Heschel escaped the Nazis and immigrated to America, but he lost much of his family during the Holocaust. Driven to fight bigotry in all its forms, he became a supporter of King. Michelson writes in poetic language that gracefully uses repetitive sentence structures and themes to emphasize the similarities between the two men’s lives. Also admirable is Michelson’s ability to convey complex historical concepts, such as segregation, in clear, potent terms that will speak directly to readers: “Martin was thirsty, but the signs said WHITES ONLY.” In both palette and style, Colón’s colored-pencil and watercolor art, with gauzy textures and frequently used sepia tones, suggests the past, but his themes carry right into today’s headlines. Scenes of terrifying, chaotic, violent struggle give way to the gorgeous, closing image, which shows King and Heschel marching arm in arm. Stirring opening quotes and an appended page of more biographical facts close this exceptional title for sharing and discussion. Grades 2-4. --Gillian Engberg

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0375833358
• ISBN 13: 9780375833359
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Colon Raul