#25- My Brother Martin

My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Written by Christine King Farris

Illustrated by Chris Soentpiet

Scholastic Inc., 2003

34 Pages

Non-Fiction

“And my brother M. L. looked up into our mother's face and said the words I remember to this day. He said, “Mother Dear, one day I'm going to turn this world upside down.”

     This is a biography of Martin Luther King Jr. told by his sister Christine. She tells stories of what it was like growing up with her younger brother who grew up to be a huge influence on changing the laws in America. She tells stories of playing pranks on the neighbors and their unsuspecting piano teacher. She also tells stories of playing with the only two white boys in the neighborhood and then one day being rejected by the two boys just because of their skin color. Christine also tells stories of how their father not only preached about standing up to the injustice that was so prevalent in those days but how he also practiced it. Martin Luther King Jr.'s father may have been one of the biggest influences on him becoming who he was. Christine focuses on how Martin was just a normal boy who found out how cruel the world was and wanted to do something about it. He vowed to his mother that one day he would turn the world upside down, and he did just that.

     Soentpiet uses watercolor to create the beautiful illustrations in this book. The pictures in the book are very vibrant and realistic looking. Soentpiet chose colors that make the reader feel like they are actually living Martin's childhood with him. All the pictures are very detailed. The format of the book is very formal. The text is always on one side and the pictures are on the other. All the pictures contain a border around them.

      This book would be a great book to share with students to help them see that Martin Luther King Jr. was a normal child just like them. It would be a great way to teach students that they can do anything as long as they put their mind to it. It would also be a great way to talk about the injustice of the laws during the time that Martin was growing up. It would be a great starting point for a writing activity where students could be encouraged to talk about how they would have felt if they were black and lived during that time.