Sharing the Dream

Young narrator Agnes, plus Mama and Daddy, travel by bus from Birmingham, Ala., to Washington, D.C., in this dream-centered picture book tracing one family’s experience of the March on Washington. Upon arrival, the Black family visits the home of Frederick Douglass. When Agnes sees “people of every color” sharing a water fountain, Mama assures, “We are one today.” A visit to the Lincoln Memorial is followed by figures seen from Daddy’s shoulders: John Lewis, Josephine Baker, Mahalia Jackson, and Martin Luther King Jr. Following the event, people of all backgrounds together soak their tired feet in the reflection pond. Riding home, Agnes dreams that the whole world attends King’s speech, a moment that underlines the book’s themes of freedom for all. Moses provides a child’s-eye view of a pivotal historical event, while Mallett’s straightforward digital illustrations use bright colors to foreground the family’s day amid the large crowd, portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note and figure biographies conclude. Ages 3–7. (Jan.)