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Picturebooks for learning about important people and events


Today the university is closed because it is Martin Luther King Day, marked in all states in America to celebrate the birthday of America’s most important civil rights campaigner. Dr. King’s birthday was actually on January 15th 1929 but is celebrated each year on the third Monday of January. There are many picturebooks about the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Junior as well as related history and values. A blog I found introduces 18 books which the writer, Chernaie Gordon, recommends, including a recent picturebook entitled  I have a Dream  which uses the text of the speech delivered by Dr. King on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. It is illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and includes a cd recording of the speech.

In anticipation of an upcoming national holiday in New Zealand, I have worked on a display in the Worlds of Words library to mark Waitangi Day on February 6th. I have included the several recent picturebooks which have been published on the topic, as well as the recent graphic novel which presents the history of Waitangi Day in Māori one way and when the book is turned over and upside down, the same text and images are presented in English. Te Tiriti o Waitangi/ The Treaty of Waitangi (Lift Education, 2019) was illustrated by Toby Morris, written by Ross Calman and Mark Derby, and translated by Piripi Walker. This format for a bilingual picturebooks is called tête-bêche, and is a very effective way of ensuring each language is given equal space and status within the book. For an interesting review and discussion of how it came to be written, see this excellent article in the Sapling. 



As well as books about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, we have also included a range of picturebooks by New Zealand authors and illustrators to showcase the wonderful books we produce. Below is a photo of me in front of the display with the Worlds of Words library co-director, Rebecca Ballenger and the Director and my host colleague at the University of Arizona, Professor Kathy Short.




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