Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop

In celebration of Multicultural Children's Book Day KBN is sharing a story of an historical event perfect for beginner readers.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 (1/25/19) is in its 6^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. 

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party. GO HERE for more details.

FREE RESOURCES From MCBD

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

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Title: Memphis, Martin, and the Mountain Top: The Sanitation Strike of 1968

Author:  Alice Faye Duncan

Illustrations:  R. Gregory Christie

Publisher: Calkins Creek

ISBN: 9781629797182

Review:

Through the eyes of a young girl who witnessed the Sanitation Strike of 1968 readers will have the opportunity to read the poetry that sets the tone of this historical event.

Trucks And Tanks

“Mayor Loeb issued a state of emergency in response to the Beale Street riot. He imposed a 7:00 p.m. curfew and called four thousand National Guard soldiers to patrol the Memphis streets in military trucks and tanks.

The presences of soldiers restored the peace. But on the following day, the strike seemed to have no end. Mayor Loeb held firmly to his anti-union position, and workers continued to march. The sight of loaded guns did not send them back to work.

From my bedroom window, I saw soldiers in big green tanks creep slowly up the street. I waved to my friend Jan, who sat in her window too. Nobody played outside that day. Fear locked us in our houses.

This account from the eyes of a child shares the fear she must have endured. Young readers will be taken back in time to relive the history of this event. Parents and teachers can take this as an opportunity to discuss this event and the impact it had now and then.