Tomorrow we will be having a very special assembly in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr inspired by the organization The Dream Unfinished.  In preparation for it, I talked with my 4th grade students about the March on Washington and read to them Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney’s Martin & Mahalia.  The children were very excited as they recalled Andrea visiting their classroom a few years ago and reading another collaboration with Brian, Sit-In.  And so I read that book aloud too. We enjoyed so much the history, the emotion, and the poetic quality of the text. Afterwards, hearing that the distinguished editor and author had been recently involved in a difficult situation involving the withdrawal of a book she had edited,  several students were inspired to write letters of appreciation. Here they are:

I believe Sit-In is an AMAZING book that shows that you can stand up for your ethnicity, race, color of your skin or marriage. I think that Mr. and Mrs. Pinkney are an awesome book writing team. Many people, black or white, gay or lesbian, and ethnicities all over the world will adore this beautifully composed book. I hope that people around the world will love this book almost as I did. I have heard that Mrs. Pinkney has been told rude remarks. It is okay because everyone makes mistakes. Mrs. Pinkney, if you are reading this, please keep writing books. Ignore everyone who tells you, “You made a mistake” or “ Why did you do that”. You did what you did. It is over. What you did had to be done for a good reason. Please keep your hopes up. People will stop eventually.

I love your books very much. The way all the description and feeling makes it so interesting. I think that the “Sit In” was very good because the way you wrote things like,”For them, integration was better than any chef’s special,” made the sentences full of interesting description.

I think your book Sit-in is a great book. The writing is amazing! I really like the way you repeat a doughnut and coffee with cream on the side.

The stories you write have a great use of poetic language them and make me want to keep reading. I also like what you write about because I think if you are going to write something you should always have a reason and you get your point across really well in all of your books. I really enjoy reading your books and hope to see some new ones out soon!

I liked how both Sit-in and Martin & Mahalia have a rhythm in them that makes them sound like a beautiful song. That fits the story of Martin & Mahalia because the book is about strong words and song. The story of Sit-in is a very strong plot. It’s story connects with Martin & Mahalia. Both books have a similar message in them, which is not to segregate or discriminate.