The flyleaf of Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights carries the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." The book proceeds to give children several dozen ways to do so. The ideas are big and bold: Take action. Make banners. Boycott. Create allies. Chant. Cheer. Call someone.
By the time we got to "be fearless, fly a flag, file a lawsuit, have faith," we realized that these recommendations are organized, sometimes subtly, in alphabetical order. This adds appeal to an already stimulating topic and expands the palette of what constitutes action; you can march and motivate, but you can also meditate and mediate.
Jared Andrew Schorr created colorful collage-style illustrations that reinforce the boldness of the calls to stand up for equal rights. The book, meant for children ages 4 - 8, ends with a page about peaceful protests in the 1950s and '60s and a glossary of words that might not yet be in the vocabulary of young children, like "persevere" and "unite."
