Dr. Martin Luther King, dreams, and children are all together in the book, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Ready to Read) written by Margaret McNamara and illustrated by Mike Gordon.
In this wonderful story, a first-grade class is on a field trip for MLK day and the teacher tells the kids, “Doctor King was a great leader because he had great dreams…about how to make the world a better place.” Children may have very different ideas about what dreams would make the world a better place, like ice cream at every meal, but they also have surprising insights.
When talking about dreams, Little Sister explained to me, “If you come into my room in the night and I’m not in my bed, it’s because I’m in a dream. I would shout to you very loudly, ‘Here I am. I’m just in a dream,’ and you will know where to find me.” Although it took me a minute to clue in, I realized that she thought when she was in a dream that she was no longer in her bed. After all, no one can be in two places at once. It’s quite logical. Her dream is another reality.
Although we know what dreaming is about, her idea of a dream is a great reminder. When we have a dream, we can’t just lie there and hope it will happen. We truly do have to get up and be in that dream.
Dr. Martin Luther King not only had a dream, he was an active participant in that dream. He had a dream and he shouldered the task of making it a reality. Not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. And he walked many.
Today, we can ask kids 2 questions: 1-What do you think would make the world a better place? and 2-How can we do that? Then we need to ask ourselves if we are only dreaming or if we are being our dream.