A Place to Land by Barry Wittenstein

 

A Place to Land by Barry Wittenstein 

          Wittenstein, B. (2021). A place to land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the speech that inspired a nation. Findaway World. (J. Pinkney, Illustrator) ISBN 9780823443314

          Almost everyone knows the famous words, "I have a dream" but not may know the process that went behind the iconic I Have a Dream Speech.  In A Place to Land, readers learn more about the famous speech and the moments that led up to it, and the moments after.

          As stated in the above summary, I am a part of group that did not know much about the history behind the "I Have a Dream Speech."  The story is told in a timeline, that is described in great detail by Barry Wittenstein and added onto by the mesmerizing illustrations by Jerry Pinkney,  With so many important historical figures mentioned, Pinkney did a fantastic job at ensure that every figure had distinct characteristics.  I also appreciated that every person had their name somewhere near their illustration so that the reader knew who Wittenstein was referring to in his text. I also liked how Pinkney's art style looked like it incorporated collages into the book, which is then extended with illustrations from Pinkney himself. Even in images with many characters on the page, Pinkney manages to make sure that every character has distinct characteristics, from their hair, to clothing, to facial features.  As someone who is not very interested in history, I can say with confidence that Wittenstein and Pinkney do a great job at collaborating with each other to weave a tale of the moments leading up to and after to the iconic speech we all know.

What do readers think of A Place to Land? Kirkus Reviews states that A Place to Land "gives readers a fresh and thrilling sense of what it took to make history."  If you enjoyed this title make sure you also check out I am Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer.  Before reading A Place to Land, have a students complete a K-W-L chart about what they Know, Want to Know and they Learned after reading A Place to Land.  Once the chart is complete, you can have students create a timeline based on the events mentioned in the book using Google Slides, and using information they learned or researched.  

Awards and Honors for A Place to Land

•             Winner of Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
•             Selected for Texas Bluebonnet Master List

References

A place to land by Barry Wittenstein: 9780823451135: Penguinrandomhouse.com: Books. Penguin Random House. (n.d.). https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/605335/a-place-to-land-by-by-barry-wittenstein-illustrated-by-jerry-pinkney/

A place to land. Kirkus Reviews. (2019, June 22). https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/barry-wittenstein/a-place-to-land/

Wittenstein, B. (2021). A place to land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the speech that inspired a nation. Findaway World. (J. Pinkney, Illustrator) ISBN 9780823443314