MORE THAN A DREAM: THE RADICAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM by Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long is a compelling middle-grade history exploring the 1963 March on Washington. Featuring numerous photos from the time period, this engrossing work of nonfiction weaving in primary source materials to explore the broader impact of this event on racial justice and the civil rights movement. This is an important work for the school library collection. ARC courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, imprint of Macmillan ( )

This book details the planning behind the March on Washington. I learned a great deal from the original plan being scrapped pretty close to "THE" day with a new plan. The fighting amongst themselves shows that not everyone agreed on the same path to economic freedom for black American. The planning and lack of violence was a feat! I understood the disappointment from the women that they had been pushed aside. The men didn't acknowledge the role black women made in the fight. A couple of women spoke, but the speakers were men. Some white people who supported the black efforts made a few demands in order to participate, which I found tacky. Looking at the pictures, I was amazed how nicely everyone was dressed in such hot weather. Finally, King's "I have a dream" speech was not completely planned. He felt the need to dip into a refrain from an earlier speech about a dream. His ability to speak showed his talent. All in all, I enjoyed learning about this famous civil rights event. I don't think many students will read this book. I have a hard time getting students to read about their own history, whether female, black, hispanic, etc. I would assume it is because they are too young. ( )