Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop

The Sanitation Strike of 1968

Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Look inside
Hardcover
$17.99 US
| $23.99 CAN
On sale Aug 28, 2018 | 40 Pages | 9781629797182
Age 7-10 years | Grades 2-5
Reading Level: Lexile 800L | Fountas & Pinnell W
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book • School Library Journal Best Book of the Year • Booklist Editors' Choice • Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book • Booklist Top 10 Diverse Books for Middle Grade or Older Readers • Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books

This award-winning book will help kids understand the life and legacy of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

★"(A) history that everyone should know: required and inspired." —Kirkus Reviews

This picture book tells the story of a nine-year-old girl who in 1968 witnessed the Memphis sanitation strike - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s final stand for justice before his assassination - when her father, a sanitation worker, participated in the protest.

In February 1968, two African American sanitation workers were killed by unsafe equipment in Memphis, Tennessee. Outraged at the city's refusal to recognize a labor union that would fight for higher pay and safer working conditions, sanitation workers went on strike. The strike lasted two months, during which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was called to help with the protests. While his presence was greatly inspiring to the community, this unfortunately would be his last stand for justice. He was assassinated in his Memphis hotel the day after delivering his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" sermon in Mason Temple Church. Inspired by the memories of a teacher who participated in the strike as a child, author Alice Faye Duncan reveals the story of the Memphis sanitation strike from the perspective of a young girl with a riveting combination of poetry and prose.
★ “Duncan creates 9-year-old Lorraine Jackson to tell the full story of the Memphis sanitation strike of 1968. The author's choice to not focus on the singular efforts of King but on the dedicated efforts of community signals a deeply important lesson for young readers. Strong historical details back up the organizing feat…(t)he narrative is set in vignettes that jump between verse and prose, set against Christie's bold paintings… encapsulates the bravery, intrigue, and compassion that defined a generation, presenting a history that everyone should know: required and inspired.” – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★“In this impressive picture book, a character inspired by an African American family involved in the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike tells her first-person account of the experience in verse and prose. Each full-page spread functions as a chapter with…informative back matter (which)…includes a time line and source notes. The excellent gouache art is typical of Christie’s distinctive and impactful style, with impressionistic images set on pages saturated with shades of blue, yellow, or orange. Most gratifyingly, the determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout.”Booklist, starred review

★ “The boldly colored, vivid illustrations add to the meaning of the story. The book could be read many times and new information would be discovered with each new reading….(T)he author uses descriptive words that make this book excellent to use as a mentor text for writing. Each choice in diction conjures a specific meaning and acts as the perfect word to help the reader picture and feel what is happening in the story.” -- School Library Connection, starred review

★“With Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop, Alice Faye Duncan…takes as her subject Martin Luther King's last campaign, and she makes clear that, while he didn't live to see its outcome, his work was not in vain. R. Gregory Christie…displays his unmistakable style…in his ennobling art, humanity is always paramount. (A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory.” -- Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ “The language throughout (the book) is powerful. Christie’s Acryla gouache paintings are breathtaking... The text is fully researched, with cited sources, and draws many details from interviews with a Memphis teacher who experienced this moment in history as a child. A superbly written and illustrated work. A first purchase for public and school libraries.”School Library Journal, starred review

“Duncan writes in fervent free verse…(the) narrative is passionate and personal…Christie’s vivid, emotive gouache paintings feature a montage of powerful panoramas and portraits.” –Publishers Weekly

© Tarrice Love
Alice Faye Duncan is the author of multiple children’s books, including Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop, which received a 2019 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor and five starred reviews, and Just Like Mama, which was nominated for the NAACP Image Award. Her most recent books include Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free, Evicted!, and Yellow Dog Blues. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee. Visit alicefayeduncan.com. View titles by Alice Faye Duncan
R. Gregory Christie is the award-winning illustrator of over fifty children's books, including The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children, edited by Davida Adedjouma, which won a Coretta Scott King Honor for illustration, and Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, which was selected as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. He lives in Decatur, Georgia, where he also owns and operates a bookstore that sells autographed children's books. gas-art.com View titles by R. Gregory Christie

About

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book • School Library Journal Best Book of the Year • Booklist Editors' Choice • Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book • Booklist Top 10 Diverse Books for Middle Grade or Older Readers • Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books

This award-winning book will help kids understand the life and legacy of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

★"(A) history that everyone should know: required and inspired." —Kirkus Reviews

This picture book tells the story of a nine-year-old girl who in 1968 witnessed the Memphis sanitation strike - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s final stand for justice before his assassination - when her father, a sanitation worker, participated in the protest.

In February 1968, two African American sanitation workers were killed by unsafe equipment in Memphis, Tennessee. Outraged at the city's refusal to recognize a labor union that would fight for higher pay and safer working conditions, sanitation workers went on strike. The strike lasted two months, during which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was called to help with the protests. While his presence was greatly inspiring to the community, this unfortunately would be his last stand for justice. He was assassinated in his Memphis hotel the day after delivering his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" sermon in Mason Temple Church. Inspired by the memories of a teacher who participated in the strike as a child, author Alice Faye Duncan reveals the story of the Memphis sanitation strike from the perspective of a young girl with a riveting combination of poetry and prose.

Reviews

★ “Duncan creates 9-year-old Lorraine Jackson to tell the full story of the Memphis sanitation strike of 1968. The author's choice to not focus on the singular efforts of King but on the dedicated efforts of community signals a deeply important lesson for young readers. Strong historical details back up the organizing feat…(t)he narrative is set in vignettes that jump between verse and prose, set against Christie's bold paintings… encapsulates the bravery, intrigue, and compassion that defined a generation, presenting a history that everyone should know: required and inspired.” – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★“In this impressive picture book, a character inspired by an African American family involved in the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike tells her first-person account of the experience in verse and prose. Each full-page spread functions as a chapter with…informative back matter (which)…includes a time line and source notes. The excellent gouache art is typical of Christie’s distinctive and impactful style, with impressionistic images set on pages saturated with shades of blue, yellow, or orange. Most gratifyingly, the determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout.”Booklist, starred review

★ “The boldly colored, vivid illustrations add to the meaning of the story. The book could be read many times and new information would be discovered with each new reading….(T)he author uses descriptive words that make this book excellent to use as a mentor text for writing. Each choice in diction conjures a specific meaning and acts as the perfect word to help the reader picture and feel what is happening in the story.” -- School Library Connection, starred review

★“With Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop, Alice Faye Duncan…takes as her subject Martin Luther King's last campaign, and she makes clear that, while he didn't live to see its outcome, his work was not in vain. R. Gregory Christie…displays his unmistakable style…in his ennobling art, humanity is always paramount. (A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory.” -- Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ “The language throughout (the book) is powerful. Christie’s Acryla gouache paintings are breathtaking... The text is fully researched, with cited sources, and draws many details from interviews with a Memphis teacher who experienced this moment in history as a child. A superbly written and illustrated work. A first purchase for public and school libraries.”School Library Journal, starred review

“Duncan writes in fervent free verse…(the) narrative is passionate and personal…Christie’s vivid, emotive gouache paintings feature a montage of powerful panoramas and portraits.” –Publishers Weekly

Author

© Tarrice Love
Alice Faye Duncan is the author of multiple children’s books, including Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop, which received a 2019 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor and five starred reviews, and Just Like Mama, which was nominated for the NAACP Image Award. Her most recent books include Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free, Evicted!, and Yellow Dog Blues. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee. Visit alicefayeduncan.com. View titles by Alice Faye Duncan
R. Gregory Christie is the award-winning illustrator of over fifty children's books, including The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children, edited by Davida Adedjouma, which won a Coretta Scott King Honor for illustration, and Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, which was selected as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. He lives in Decatur, Georgia, where he also owns and operates a bookstore that sells autographed children's books. gas-art.com View titles by R. Gregory Christie