As Good as Anybody

Richard Michelson is an award-winning poet and children’s book author whose work has been praised by Elie Wiesel as “deeply moving.” He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Raul Colón is the recipient of both Gold and Silver Medals from the Society of Illustrators. He lives in New City, New York.

*Starred Review* In this powerful, well-crafted story about a partnership between two great civil rights leaders, Michelson shows how the fight for human rights affects everyone. Martin Luther King and Polish rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel each grew up in a loving, religious household, where each was taught clear messages about self-respect. As an adult, Heschel escaped the Nazis and immigrated to America, but he lost much of his family during the Holocaust. Driven to fight bigotry in all its forms, he became a supporter of King. Michelson writes in poetic language that gracefully uses repetitive sentence structures and themes to emphasize the similarities between the two men’s lives. Also admirable is Michelson’s ability to convey complex historical concepts, such as segregation, in clear, potent terms that will speak directly to readers: “Martin was thirsty, but the signs said WHITES ONLY.” In both palette and style, Colón’s colored-pencil and watercolor art, with gauzy textures and frequently used sepia tones, suggests the past, but his themes carry right into today’s headlines. Scenes of terrifying, chaotic, violent struggle give way to the gorgeous, closing image, which shows King and Heschel marching arm in arm. Stirring opening quotes and an appended page of more biographical facts close this exceptional title for sharing and discussion. Grades 2-4. --Gillian Engberg