A Place to Land
by Barry Wittenstein illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Informational Resources:
Author Information:
Barry Wittenstein website:
Barry Wittenstein biography:
https://www.onedogwoof.com/about-me
Illustrator Information:
Jerry Pinkney website:
http://www.jerrypinkneystudio.com/frameset.html
Jerry Pinkney biography:
http://www.jerrypinkneystudio.com/frameset.html
Illustrator interview with Kidlit TV (5:06):
Activities & Resources:
Activities:
Learn:
A Place to Land educator guide (Holiday House Website):
https://holidayhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a-place-to-land-guide_2PG-guide.pdf
Barry Wittenstein discusses use of primary sources when writing A Place to Land:
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial:
https://www.nps.gov/mlkm/index.htm
Mahalia Jackson:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahalia-Jackson
The March on Washington:
Learn about the men and women who spoke at the March on Washington by reading the back matter of A Place to Land.
Learn the history of the March on Washington:
https://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_rights/march_on_washington.php
Watch Mahalia Jackson sing at the March on Washington:
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/mahalia-jackson-wows-crowd-at-march-on-washington/
Create Change:
Using resources from Teaching Tolerance, students will research and learn about the “defenders of justice”:
https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/defenders-of-justice
Read Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech:
https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/texts/i-have-a-dream
Listen to the audio clip from StoryCorps of a couple who witnessed Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic speech:
https://storycorps.org/stories/taylor-and-bessie-rogers/
MakerSpace Activities:
Using a green screen app like DoInk and the “defenders of justice” lesson from Teaching Tolerance students can share what they learned about the men and women who fought against racism.
Create a physical or digital gallery walk of images from the March on Washington. You can find images from the National Museum of African American History:
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/collection/search?edan_q=march+on+washington&edan_local=1&op=Search
Create “I Have a Dream” posters to hang throughout the library or school. Each poster will have a different caption: family, community, country, world, school. Under each caption kids can write the dreams they have for their family, community, country, etc.
The illustrator, Jerry Pinkney, used the collage method. Choose a moment from the book and create your own collage.
Discussion Questions:
What did you know about the “I Have a Dream” speech before reading this book?
Why did Martin Luther King Jr. seek out advice from the people he trusted?
Martin Luther King Jr. said the hardest part of preaching was “knowing where to end. It’s terrible to be circling up there without a place to land” (p. 1). What did he mean by “circling up there without a place to land?”
Looking closely at Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations, what do you notice about the images in the background?
The author makes a point to connect the Willard Hotel to both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. Why is this connection important?
The illustration of all the men in the lobby of the hotel has their names written next to their illustrations. Why do you think the illustrator, Jerry Pinkney, identified each man in the picture?
Martin Luther King Jr.’s trusted advisors disagreed on whether his speech should be similar to his past sermons and speeches. How did listening to different ideas from men he trusted help him?
As he wrote his speech, he kept thinking about the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Why do you think it was important for him to keep them in mind when writing the speech?
The illustration has the faces of each person Martin Luther King Jr. is thinking about. What do you notice about the illustration? Why do you think the artist included each of their images behind Martin?
Why did he spend hours revising and rewriting his speech?
What does the line, “the handwritten speech finished, but not finished,” mean? Why do you think Martin Luther King Jr. felt the speech wasn’t complete?
Have you ever worked on something that wasn’t perfect or just right? How did it make you feel?
The illustration of the soldiers contrasts with the illustration of the peaceful protestors at the march. What does Jerry Pinkney show in this illustration?
During the speech Martin Luther King Jr. would add “a sentence for emphasis, replacing a word for clarity.” Why did the civil rights leader make changes to his speech?
What was Mahalia Jackson telling Martin Luther King Jr. when she called out, “tell them about the dream, Martin?”
What was Martin Luther King Jr.’s “place to land” during his famous speech?
After the speech, Martin Luther King Jr. went to the White House to meet with President John F. Kennedy. The President had previously tried to convince the march leaders that the event should be canceled. Why did King still meet with the President?
Why are the events after the speech as important as the speech itself?
After celebrating King’s historic speech, what did his closest advisors realize about the fight for equality?
On the last two pages, the illustrator, Jerry Pinkney, includes a picture of Martin Luther King Jr., Representative Shirley Chisholm, Representative John Lewis, and President Obama. Why did he included these important political figures?
Book Talk Teasers:
Play the book trailer for A Place to Land, found on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.
Present the readers theater for A Place to Land.
Read Alikes:
Martin Luther King Jr.
Bader, Bonnie. Who Was Martin Luther King Jr.? Profiles the civil rights leader, discussing his career as a pastor, his fight for African American rights, and his legacy. (NoveList Plus)
King, Martin Luther, III. My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An account of the author's brief years shared with his civil rights leader father offers insight into their special bond, their separation during Dr. King's imprisonment, and the author's five-year-old witness to the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. (NoveList Plus)
Shange, Ntozake. Coretta Scott. Examines the life of Martin Luther King's wife, Coretta, who in her own right, was a civil rights pioneer who experienced the injustices of the segregated South and who continued her husband's mission after his assassination. (Novelist Plus)
Civil Rights Leaders
Adamson, Heather. The Civil Rights Movement: An Interactive History Adventure. Describes the people and events of the U.S. civil rights movement. The reader’s choices reveal the historical details from the perspectives of a Little Rock resident, a Freedom Rider, and a Birmingham protester. (Novelist Plus)
Alko, Selina. We Are the Change: words of inspiration from civil rights leaders. Presents quotes on civil rights from important and influential figures, including Queen Lili'uokalani, John Lewis, Nina Simone, and Barack Obama. (NoveList Plus)
Shelton, Paula Young. Child of the Civil Rights Movement. The author, the daughter of Andrew Young, describes the participation of Martin Luther King, Jr., along with her father and others, in the civil rights movement and in the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. (Novelist Plus)
The Civil Rights March on Washington
King, Martin Luther, Jr. I Have a Dream. Presents the text of the famous speech given on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. by Martin Luther King, Jr., complemented by paintings by Kadir Nelson illustrating the ideals the civil rights leader described. (NoveList Plus)
Krull, Kathleen. What Was the March on Washington? Describes the 1963 March on Washington, helmed by Martin Luther King, Jr., where over two hundred thousand people gathered to demand equal rights for all races, and explains why this event is still important in American history today. (NoveList Plus)
Mahalia Jackson
Nolan, Nina. Mahalia Jackson: walking with kings and queens. A picture-book introduction to the gospel singer's life and career. (NoveList Plus)
Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Martin & Mahalia: his words, her song. Explores the intersecting lives of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson at the historic moment when their joined voices inspired landmark changes. (NoveList Plus)