Martin’s Dream Day

The author of numerous celebrity biographies, Kelley ventures into children’s books with this photographic account of the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The mostly black-and-white photos—many of which were published for the first time in Kelley and the late Tretick’s Let Freedom Ring (2013)—include dense crowd scenes that give a strong sense of the scale of the march, as well as close-up images of a passionate King, civil rights activists, and a meeting between King and President Kennedy (whose professional and personal life Tretick famously documented). Kelley succinctly guides readers through highlights of the civil rights movement leading up to and following King’s speech, as well as the key role played by those who “responded to his call” to convene in the nation’s capital: “Farmers, fireman, policemen, secretaries, doctors, lawyers, plumbers—all came to Washington to tell Congress to pass the law that would give everyone the same rights.” Tretick’s singular photographs deliver a striking perspective on a momentous event in the ongoing quest for equality in America. Ages 5–up. Agent: Wayne Kabak, WSK Management. (Jan.)