Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King

Jean Marzollo

Scholastic Incorporated, 1993 - African Americans - 32 pages

An introduction to a great civil rights leader. In simple words and beautiful scratchboard illustrations, the story of King's life and his commitment to understanding between races is told. Though this is in a picture-book format, the care taken in writing the text has made it very accessible to young readers. The focus is on King's ability to bring people together in this simple biography. The focus is on King's ability to bring people together in this simple biography. Annotation. Much more than a biography, this book is an examination of the principles set forth by the renowned civil rights leader. The author highlights King's most brilliant moments, which will help readers better appreciate his accomplishments. Text copyright 2004 Lectorum Publications, Inc.

About the author

Jean Marzollo was born Jean Martin in Manchester, Connecticut on June 25, 1942. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1964, and received a master's degree in teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1965. After graduating, she taught high school English for several years and then became involved in educational publishing. She was the editor of Scholastic's kindergarten magazine Let's Find Out for twenty years. Her first book for parents, Learning Through Play, was published in 1972 and her first children's book, Close Your Eyes, was published in 1978. She wrote over 150 books for children and has illustrated some of her own children's books starting in 2003. Her works include the I Spy series; Soccer Sam; Mama Mama/Papa Papa; Close Your Eyes; Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King; and the Shanna Show books. She died in her sleep of natural causes on April 10, 2018 at the age of 75.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King; Leveled readers collection; Scholastic Press Picture Bks
• Author: Jean Marzollo
• Illustrated by: J. Brian Pinkney
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Scholastic Incorporated, 1993
• ISBN: 0590440659, 9780590440653
• Length: 32 pages