Picture book · Nonfiction
Be a King
Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by James E. Ransome
About the book
Readers are encouraged to carry Dr. King's lessons into their own lives and classrooms, paired with scenes from his life.
Reading notes
Structured as an invitation to action; good for classroom discussion. Scenes from Dr. King's life revisit the civil rights movement, so adults should be ready to talk about segregation and injustice.
This description was drafted with AI assistance and checked by a separate AI review against catalog, publisher and award sources on 2026-11-11. It has not been reviewed by a human editor. Report an error.
Book details
- Author
- Carole Boston Weatherford
- Illustrator
- James E. Ransome
- First published
- 2018
- Suggested ages
- Ages 5–9 (editorial estimate — children vary)
- Reading mode
- Best read aloud
- Topics
- civil rights, martin luther king, kindness
- Edition shown
- ISBN 9781338363098 · Scholastic, Inc., 2019-01-01
- Catalog record
- Open Library work record · edition record
Metadata verified against Open Library on 2026-11-11. Other editions and formats exist; ISBNs differ by edition.
Featured in
Book list
Children's Books About Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement
Picture books, biographies and novels about Dr. King and the civil rights movement by age, with guidance for honest conversations and primary sources to pair.
For educators & librarians
Civil Rights Picture Book Unit for Grades 2–5: A Two-Week Plan with Primary Sources
A 1–2 week civil rights unit built on picture books, with a daily plan, National Archives primary sources, vocabulary, assessment and guidance on hard history.