Barry WittensteinRezensionen

This informational texts goes through Martin Luther King Jr's speech/beliefs and what people thought about him and his beliefs. It teaches about Martin himself and about other people as well. I would use this book as a read aloud but only to 5th grade and up. I feel the information in this book and words on each page is formatted for a mature audience.

When the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, it wasn't the first time that had happened - but it was the time that inspired action. Black mayor Carl Stokes "declared war...on pollution." Congress passed the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, and the first Earth Day took place in 1970. People "learned that caring for the Earth requires constant attention." Wittenstein nods to the river's cleanliness when Indigenous peoples were its custodians, and acknowledges that although more than 40 species of fish have returned to the river, it's still not as clean as it was before the Industrial Revolution.

Back matter includes an author's note, an environmental time line (starting with the publication of Silent Spring), more resources, and a bibliography.

See also: The Great Stink by Colleen Paeff; Zero Waste by Allan Drummond

I love books about inventions and inventors because I want to teach my kids to be curious and proactive, but also because they sneakily teach about the time period the invention existed in. This history of the invention of the Band-Aid is spunky and informative.

This book is about Martin Luther King Jr’s speech but instead of what the speech means and what is about, this book is about how he came to write the speech itself. This book is useful for the classroom because it shows that not everything is as it seems for famous people. Sometimes greatness happens when you do not expect it.

Goodreads Review:
Much has been written about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the 1963 March on Washington. But there's little on his legendary speech and how he came to write it. Find out more in this gripping book with illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Jerry Pinkney.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was once asked if the hardest part of preaching was knowing where to begin. No, he said. The hardest part is knowing where to end. "It's terrible to be circling up there without a place to land."

Finding this place to land was what Martin Luther King, Jr. struggled with, alongside advisors and fellow speech writers, in the Willard Hotel the night before the March on Washington, where he gave his historic "I Have a Dream" speech. But those famous words were never intended to be heard on that day, not even written down for that day, not even once.

Barry Wittenstein teams up with legendary illustrator Jerry Pinkney to tell the story of how, against all odds, Martin found his place to land.

This picture book follows a young boy named Bernard as he and his family wait for a Black man to be on the Red Sox's Baseball team. They wait and wait until they get to see Pumpsie Green play.

I definitely think this is a great book for students to read and learn a part of Martin Luther King Jr. story. The book has beautiful illustrations and gives a good insight into how the "I Have a Dream Speech" was created. it is an inspiring story and includes the topic of racism and human rights. This book would be a great read aloud for 1st graders and up.

children's picture book (invention of the band-aid, 3rd grade and up)
kids who aren't too queasy (the pictures aren't gory or anything, but it is a story about the solution to a "bloody problem") might enjoy this story about the humble origins of the band-aid.
this could also work as a readaloud for older kids/teens.

This fictional story gives a history of America through the lens of the changes in a corner store in New York City. It started out as a barbershop in 1800 opened by Oskar (later changed to Oscar) Nowicki, a Polish immigrant. He sold the store which became a woman’s clothing store. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, the store became a soup kitchen. During World War II, it was an army recruitment office. And so the story continued, with the building reflecting changes in history until 1999, when the building was torn down so that luxury apartments could be erected.

On the morning the bulldozers arrived, a young woman watching introduced herself to the crowd; she was Oscar’s great-granddaughter.

Illustrations by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell carefully include historical details.½

Author Barry Wittenstein and illustrator Jerry Pinkney tell the story of the writing and delivery of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the 1963 March on Washington in this immensely moving, beautifully-illustrated picture-book. Opening the night before the march, the narrative follows King, who had not yet finalized his speech, as he confers with his advisors, and then spends the night wrestling with his words. On the day of the march itself, we see King begin his speech, only to put it aside at the urging of Mahalia Jackson, switching to a more preacherly mode full of fire and emotion. The book concludes with an extensive afterword, with notes from both author and illustrator, a list of people who helped with the speech or attended the march, a list of sources, and a bibliography...

Published in 2019, A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation is a powerful, deeply moving book, one which captures an important moment in King's life, and in the history of America and the Civil Rights Movement. The text is simple but emotionally resonant, and the artwork, done in graphite, colored pencil, watercolor and collage, is simply gorgeous - a true tour-de-force demonstrating Pinkney's great skill as an illustrator. As I mentioned in my review of Christine King Farris' excellent My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I have recently been thinking of picture-books about this iconic American that I would recommend, given my strong negative reaction to Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier's popular Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This is definitely another that I could wholeheartedly recommend, together with the Farris book, as opposed to the Rappaport and Collier. Like the Farris title, it captures the true message of King's life and work, the way in which that message sought to bring all people together, in the struggle for a more just society. Unlike the Rappaport/Collier, which gives the impression that the white clergy was universally opposed to the Civil Rights Movement, and which omitted reference to any white participants, the back matter here explicitly mentions a variety of key figures - Jewish rabbis, Catholic priests, Protestant ministers - who participated in the 1963 march. Highly recommended, to any picture-book readers looking for works about MLK and the Civil Rights Movement. It could pair very nicely with a more general work about its subject's life, or with the Farris book, which addresses MLK's childhood.

This book is a great book to use in a middle grades history classroom. This book focuses on one of many of Martin Luther King's speeches. This book starts with Martin, and many other people trying to figure out what he should say in his speech. Martin ended up doing the speech almost entirely on his own, and it was a very impactful speech that brought many people to tears. The speech was simply about wanting to be equal, and for things to be fair. I would recommend this book to middle grades children and even adults.

Great illustrations and quick summary of how the band-aid came to be. The added information at the end of the book is a great addition to the background written.

Describes how Dr. King worked on what became his famous “I Have a Dream” speech that he presented at the March on Washington. His advisors and colleagues weighed in with ideas, and he worked further on it all night. The next day as he gave the speech, he felt something was missing. When Mahalia Jackson shouted out for him to “tell them about the dream,” he found the spark he needed and ran with it, nailing his greatness. A contemplative start, then the rhythm picks up the cadence of a preacher’s sermon. Afterward, we descend slowly from the speech, visiting JFK and addressing his hesitation re: the civil rights movement, and hinting at the shadows now and to come. “And those battles continue to be fought.” And then a quiet uplifting ending, cadence of a sermon echoes in “stepped up to the lectern, and stepped down on the other side of history”

"A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation," is a beautifully illustrated (Jerry Pinkney), and inspiring children's story that should not be tucked away for black history month or Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Many students know Martin Luther King Jr. gave a memorable speech and some have listened to the speech, or parts of it, but this story provides a unique behind the scenes view, sharing what inspired the famous speech. The story refers him as Martin and this informal approach makes him more human and approachable. The assassination is not addressed making it appropriate for all ages and instead ends with others who have worked to further King's dream. The end of the book highlights all the other speakers at the March on Washington as well as details about those who advised King that night at the Willard Hotel.

Pinkney's gorgeous illustrations (graphite, colored pencil, watercolor, and collage) help tell the story of how Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his most famous speech, and how the words "I have a dream" almost weren't included. The book shows that Martin didn't come up with the speech by himself, but had many advisors who helped; the nine "Willard Hotel Advisors" are profiled in the back matter (Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Bayard Rustin, etc.). Further back matter includes a note from the artist, other voices who influenced the speech (including Langston Hughes and Mahalia Jackson), more information on the other speakers at the March on Washington, and a list of sources and a bibliography.

Lyrical writing and power illustrations combine to share a powerful story of how MLK composed his speech. The text would make a great read aloud to a class due to is textual rhythm. The story is historically accurate includes historical notes in the back of the text to support the writing. I even learned a few things I didn't know!
I like how the books talk about the team that MLK used to help him write his speeches and approaches MLK as a preacher first then as an activist. The illustrations are powerful and include many key figures. I love how the illustrator discreetly added the names to people so that you know exactly who the illustration is portraying.
A standout book for the genre.
"Neal Porter Books."/ Includes bibliographical references (page 48)./ Audience: Grades K-3./ Ages 6-9.
Winner of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
Selected for the Texas Bluebonnet Master List
An ALA Notable Children's Book

2020 is Band-Aid's 100th anniversary! Children will enjoy this lively and humorously-told story of how Earle Dickson invented the famous Band-Aid in response to his wife's clumsiness in the kitchen.

This book is about Earle Dickson and his wife Josepine. Josephine seems to be very clumsy and gets hurt a lot. Earle is worried about her and is wondering what to do to help her. It is difficult to keep bandaging her up all the time so, he comes up with the idea to make a long strip of bandages that she can just cut a piece off of and fix herself up. Then he gets the idea to market his invention to others. His invention does not become popular at first, but then the company marketing the Band-Aids decides to give the Band-Aids away for free to the boy scouts. Band-Aids are also sent by the millions to soldiers overseas during WII. After that Band-Aids became popular world wide.

Lightheared and humorous look at the history of band-aids and the spirit of never giving up. The author does a good job of explaining how the product came to be, the struggles the product faces and the eventual success of the product. A great book to inspire little inventors.½

This book is about a boy who is living in the times where baseball was segregated. He doesn't understand why baseball has to be separate, or anything for that matter. He hopes that baseball will make a different in society all together to unite everyone. The book seems very accurate when it came to the events that went on during this time. I like that this book can be useful in educating youth on segregation and racism.

Waiting for Pumpsie is a good book. I never heard about him until I read this book. This book is inspirational and very informational on a famous baseball player.

This is a mostly true story about the invention of the bandaid. This is a great book to get children to read a biographical book in a fun way. Filled with bright and funny illustrations, this would be a good book for kids in 4th through 6th grade.

This story is great for Text-self, and text-world strategies because it's based off of a true story. This story gives children the chance to think of scenarios where they too may have been as excited for an anticipated event, such as Bernard was to see Pumpsie play.