--- title: Martin Luther King, Jr.: 6 Books for of All Ages description: In honor of the Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, here are five books on his life and legacy canonical: https://time.com/4629523/martin-luther-king-jr-books-all-ages/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-13T20:12:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:59:11.879Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 6 Books About Martin Luther King, Jr. for Readers of All Ages og:description: From a picture book to a Pulitzer Prize winner og:url: https://time.com/4629523/martin-luther-king-jr-books-all-ages/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 6 Books About Martin Luther King, Jr. for Readers of All Ages twitter:description: From a picture book to a Pulitzer Prize winner twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 6 Books About Martin Luther King, Jr. for Readers of All Ages > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=86a6e699-b60e-42e3-869d-901c0901ba55&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jan 13, 2017 8:12 PM UTC by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jan 13, 2017 8:12 PM UTC [Martin Luther King, Jr](http://time.com/4622616/martin-luther-king-family-photos/). is the kind of hero whose story inspires Americans of all ages, 8-year-olds and 80-year-olds, generations past and generations to come. Accordingly, authors have used his life as the subject matter for everything from picture books to general interest biographies for adults, from essay collections about his impact on race in America to academic interrogations of his rhetoric. The more one learns about [MLK](http://time.com/3661538/mlk-day-reagan-history/), the more there is to appreciate. In honor of the [civil rights leader](http://time.com/4629718/mlk-day-daddy-king-excerpt/)‘s birthday, here are five books on his life and legacy for readers of all ages. ### _Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr._  Hyperion By Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Bryan Collier This picture book blends King’s quotes with original writing to tell his life story to readers ages five to eight, accompanied by vibrant paint and cut-paper collage illustrations. It won a [Caldecott Honor](http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/2002caldecott) and a Coretta Scott King [Illustrator Honor](http://www.ala.org/emiert/coretta-scott-king-book-awards-all-recipients-1970-present). [**_Get it now_**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1423106350/?tag=timecom-20) ### _My Life, My Love, My Legacy_  Henry Holt and Co. By Coretta Scott King, as told to the Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds Late in her life, King’s widow recounted stories of their marriage, their roles in the civil rights movement, and the aftermath of his assassination to the writer and minister Dr. Barbara Reynolds, now documented in this new book out Tuesday. She also shares details of her work on the King Center and the mission to instate a national holiday in honor of MLK. [**_Get it now_**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1627795987/?tag=timecom-20) ### _The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr._  Warner Books By Martin Luther King Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson After King’s untimely death in 1968, King scholar Clayborne Carson pulled together the civil rights leader’s many writings and speeches and organized them into an autobiographical form. It’s an unusual genesis for an autobiography, but one that pays thoughtful homage to the giant of American rhetoric. [**_Get it now_**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0446676500/?tag=timecom-20) ### _Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference_  William Morrow By David J. Garrow Garrow won the [Pulitzer Prize in Biography](http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/david-j-garrow) for this volume consolidating information from more than 700 interviews with King’s allies, associates and opponents, as well as access to his FBI files. [**_Get it now_**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060566922/?tag=timecom-20) ### _Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero_  Orbis Books By Vincent Harding The scholar and activist muses on King’s legacy in the decades after his death in a series of essays, reflecting on how King’s message changed in his later years and why Americans focus on certain elements of his story. [**_Get it now_**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CMC6AN0/?tag=timecom-20) ### _Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations_  Melville House The popular “Last Interview Series” assembles notable interviews from prominent figures (including, yes, their final major interview before death). This collection includes a 1964 conversation with Robert Penn Warren and King’s final interview, just 10 days before his assassination, on stage at the convention of the Rabbinical Assembly. [**_Get it now_**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612196160/?tag=timecom-20) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4629523/martin-luther-king-jr-books-all-ages/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4629523/martin-luther-king-jr-books-all-ages/"},"headline":"6 Books About Martin Luther King, Jr. for Readers of All Ages","datePublished":"2017-01-13T20:12:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:59:11.879Z","description":"From a picture book to a Pulitzer Prize winner","url":"https://time.com/4629523/martin-luther-king-jr-books-all-ages/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4629523/martin-luther-king-jr-books-all-ages/","name":"6 Books About Martin Luther King, Jr. for Readers of All Ages"}}]}] ```