Singable Picture Books Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted by: Sing Books with Emily on: January 16, 2012

• In: Art of Singing a Song | Case for Singable Books | Heartfelt Musings | Quotes of Note | Sing Books with Emily Sing-Along Materials | Singable Book Title | Singable Picture Book Video | Song History | SPB List for Special Occasion
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CELEBRATE DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY: JANUARY 16

Martin Luther King, Jr. with his family. 

Welcome to the list of Singable Picture Books, songs which celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and honor his legacy.

To honor that each person (regardless of skin color or anything else) has something cool to do in life:

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All God’s Critters
Words and Music by Bill Staines
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 2009
ISBN 987-0-689-86959-4

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1/16/2012

With Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaching, I tried to tie a few of our songs to his legacy of peaceful resolution of conflict and his championship of equal rights.

One of the songs that seems appropriate for to honor King’s legacy is “All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir.”  I was searching for appropriate words to explain this when a girl named Manou (who, amazingly, speaks English as a second language) spoke up and said that the song

“‘All God’s Critters’ means that every person has something cool to do.”  

Spot on!

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Peter, Paul and Mary sang “Blowin’ in the Wind” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 26, 1963 during the March on Washington, not long before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.

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Blowin’ in the Wind
Words and Music by Bob Dylan
Illustrated by Jon Muth

Peter Paul & Mary’s performance of “Blowin’ in the Wind” at the March on Washington in summer of 1963:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9mdxSM19d4

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Imagine
Words and Music by John Lennon
Illustrated by Lynn Lancaster-Poh and Tilman Reitzle

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Let Freedom Sing
Traditional Words and Tune
Text by Vanessa Newton
Illustrated by Vanessa Newton
(This special and joyously illustrated book, with text about heroes of the civil rights movement and a page of information and lyrics for songs that lifted the spirits of those facing the challenges of that time, contains the lyrics for “This Little Light of Mine.”)

To honor King’s peaceful resolution of conflict:

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Let There Be Peace on Earth (And Let It Begin with Me)
Music and words by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller
Illustrations by David Diaz

Sing,”Yellow Submarine,” to honor that all of humanity is literally in the same boat.  In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke about “The World House,” in which he said,

We have inherited a large house, a great “world house” in which we have to live together-black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Moslem and Hindu-a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.

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Yellow Submarine (Sing-A-Song Storybook)
Words and Music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Illustrated by Cathy Holly

Here’s another song to further underscore these ideas for children:

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A House is a House for Me
Words by Mary Ann Hoberman
Music by Fred Penner
Illustrated by Betty Fraser
Preview Fred Penner’s musical setting and recording here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000US343W/ref=dm_dp_trk7?ie=UTF8&qid=1290454196&sr=1-1

Marian Anderson sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington in 1963:

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When Marian Sang
Words and Music by Various Artists
Text by Pam Munoz Ryan
Illustrated by Brian Selznick
This book is peppered throughout with songs that Marian Anderson sang throughout her wonderful life.

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A page from the Scholastic.com website with suggestions for ways to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/how-do-you-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day

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Martin Luther King’s, “I Have a Dream” speech
Martin Luther King’s Address at March on Washington
On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
August 28, 1963 in  Washington, D.C.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs&feature=fvsr

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An interesting wiki article about the March on Washington which includes information about the songs that were sung that day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom

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Website for THE KING CENTER, housing archives and history of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
http://www.thekingcenter.org/

King’s biography on the official website of the Nobel Prize Organization:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html

Informative wiki article about King:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

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Related Posts

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH
A list of Singable Picture Books that celebrate February is African American History Month
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/singable-picture-books-celebrating-african-american-history-month/

The Songs We Sang in Mr. Mitchell’s Class on 1/13/2012
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/the-songs-we-sang-in-mr-mitchells-class-on-1142012/

Tags: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Illustrated Song, Singable Picture Book