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Rookie Biography
Martin Luther King Jr.
An easy-to-read biography about Martin Luther King, Jr. and how his efforts to stop racism affected society.
32 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2002
1 person is currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Wil Mara
262 books61 followersWil Mara has worked as an author for over 34 years and currently has more than 325 books in print. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, for children and adults. His books have won multiple awards, reached bestseller lists, earned excellent reviews, and been translated into more than a dozen languages. 2005’s Wave won the New Jersey Notable Book Award, and 2012’s The Gemini Virus remained on Amazon’s list of ‘Ten Bestseller Medical Thrillers’ for 14 consecutive weeks. The most recent novel in his disaster series, Fallout, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Novel of the Year. And his children’s nonfiction publications have won countless awards and terrific reviews in all the leading trade journals, including Booklist, School Library Journal, Kirkus, and others.
Much of his work for children has been nonfiction for the school-library market. He also ghostwrote five of the popular ‘Boxcar Children’ mysteries. And starting in 2019, Rosen Publishing released the first of his new ‘Twisted’ series, which has been described as “Twilight Zones for kids.” It became the most pre-ordered fiction series in the company’s history. The first ‘Twisted’ book, The Videomaniac, was released on January 1 and sold through its first printing in less than a month. The second, House of a Million Rooms, was released on March 1 and, just a few weeks later, was chosen as a Main Selection Title by the Junior Library Guild.
Wil was also an editor, administrator, and executive inside the industry for over 20 years, working for such houses as Scholastic, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Prentice-Hall until turning to fulltime writing in 2005. He is an associate member of the NJASL and an executive member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Center for the Book, which is an affiliate of the US Library of Congress. He is also the vice president of the Literary Alliance of New Jersey, the host of the ‘Voice of American Libraries’ podcast, and the 2019 recipient of the Literary Lion of New Jersey Award, whose past winners include Gus Friedrich, Dean Emeritus of Rutgers University, and Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Wil is also an experienced speaker, presenter, and voice artist, having visited more than 300 schools and other institutions, and done the audio readings for many books, including his 2012 thriller The Gemini Virus. He continues to speak to audiences across the country (including via video) and do voice work as his writing schedule permits.
Much of his work for children has been nonfiction for the school-library market. He also ghostwrote five of the popular ‘Boxcar Children’ mysteries. And starting in 2019, Rosen Publishing released the first of his new ‘Twisted’ series, which has been described as “Twilight Zones for kids.” It became the most pre-ordered fiction series in the company’s history. The first ‘Twisted’ book, The Videomaniac, was released on January 1 and sold through its first printing in less than a month. The second, House of a Million Rooms, was released on March 1 and, just a few weeks later, was chosen as a Main Selection Title by the Junior Library Guild.
Wil was also an editor, administrator, and executive inside the industry for over 20 years, working for such houses as Scholastic, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Prentice-Hall until turning to fulltime writing in 2005. He is an associate member of the NJASL and an executive member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Center for the Book, which is an affiliate of the US Library of Congress. He is also the vice president of the Literary Alliance of New Jersey, the host of the ‘Voice of American Libraries’ podcast, and the 2019 recipient of the Literary Lion of New Jersey Award, whose past winners include Gus Friedrich, Dean Emeritus of Rutgers University, and Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Wil is also an experienced speaker, presenter, and voice artist, having visited more than 300 schools and other institutions, and done the audio readings for many books, including his 2012 thriller The Gemini Virus. He continues to speak to audiences across the country (including via video) and do voice work as his writing schedule permits.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 30, 2020
Nonfiction for early readers with basic information about MLK JR. Fine for an introduction to his life and work for early Elementary.
September 23, 2020
It briefly goes over Martin's life, mostly focusing on civil rights and racism.
October 6, 2025
Good for an audience second grade or less.
February 28, 2015
I chose this book because of its easy readability, great pictures and a really great timeline. This book is little and not very long but it packs a lot of information into a little space. The book has a very engaging layout and easy to ready vocabulary. The book covers his life from birth to assignation.
Twin text: Belle, the last Mule at Gee's Bend by Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud
I chose this book because it is a story about when Dr. Martin Luther King spoke to the people of Gee’s Bend about voting. Belle is one of the mules that carried the residents to Camden to vote when the Ferry was closed. After Dr. King’s assignation the people of Gee’s Bend were asked to supply the mules that pulled King’s coffin through the streets of Atlanta during the funeral parade. I thought it pared nicely with the non-fiction book because it gives students a look at how Dr. King’s work inspired people to fight for their rights.
Twin text: Belle, the last Mule at Gee's Bend by Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud
I chose this book because it is a story about when Dr. Martin Luther King spoke to the people of Gee’s Bend about voting. Belle is one of the mules that carried the residents to Camden to vote when the Ferry was closed. After Dr. King’s assignation the people of Gee’s Bend were asked to supply the mules that pulled King’s coffin through the streets of Atlanta during the funeral parade. I thought it pared nicely with the non-fiction book because it gives students a look at how Dr. King’s work inspired people to fight for their rights.
February 6, 2015
This book a is non-fiction biography of Martin Luther King Jr. The book starts from the beginning of his life and sequences through until the end of his life. It has an easy font to read with large photographs. It also explains why we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and how he was a hero. You could use this book for grades Kindergarten to third grade. You could use it as a resource for various reasons such as reading and writing about biographies. Students could write their own biographies or research famous/important people and present their findings. You could also use this book for explaining the holiday or black history month.
February 18, 2016
Short & sweet. Excellent summary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life.
December 23, 2019
FREEDOM PEACE @ RIGHTS. TO SPEECH. ALL VOICES SHOULD. BE HERD 🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣😎
January 5, 2008
This biography is good for young readers.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews