The Dream Builder’s Blueprint: Dr. King’s Message to Young People

To create this moving erasure poem about nonviolent protest and more, Duncan works with the text of an October 1967 talk that Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) gave at South Philadelphia’s Barratt Junior High—per an opening note, text shaped “specifically for school-age children.” Beginning “a blueprint serves as the pattern for those building a building,” straightforward lines “suggest things that should be in your life’s blueprint,” including celebrating the self, achieving excellence, seeking justice, and believing in nonviolence. Lewis combines gouache, markers, and watercolor with tissue paper to offer images of progress—on an early page, hands are shown drafting on blueprint paper; elsewhere, a figure is depicted having reached the top of a mountain. And as lines emphasize “MAKE A BETTER WORLD,” one image shows a figure sitting atop a tall stack of paper with some sheets crumpled nearby. It’s a work poised to offer crucial guidance on how to build a meaningful life and contribute to the world. Figures are portrayed with various skin tones. Contextualizing notes conclude. Ages 7–10. (Jan.)