Martin and Bobby

Martin and Bobby follows the lives and experiences of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, showing how and where their work intersected and how their initially wary relationship evolved from challenging and testing each other to finally “arriving in the same place” as allies fighting poverty and racism. King’s courage showed Kennedy how to act on one’s moral principles, and Kennedy’s growing awareness of the country’s racial and economic divide gave King hope that the nation’s leaders could truly support justice. Young readers will be quickly engaged by the alternating details of each man’s final hours, before flashing back to compare their very different childhoods, young adult years, famous words and speeches, and rise to prominence. Full of compelling historic photos and including sidebars to extend learning, source notes, a bibliography, suggested places to visit, and a timeline, Martin and Bobby is an invaluable addition to any student’s or history buff’s bookshelf.

“This deeply researched, moving, and timely book traces the paths, junctures, and near-misses of two leaders——one a long-term civil rights icon, the other an almost-leader who might have carried on his torch. In Martin and Bobby, Claire Rudolf Murphy tells a human, historic, and tragic story for young readers and adults.” —Cynthia Levinson, author of The Youngest Marcher

“Whether it’s 1968 or today, Martin and Bobby is a timely story about the need for leadership, justice, and courage in a tumultuous world. Murphy blends the timelines of MLK and RFK through meticulous research and eyewitness accounts of a historic time.” —Patricia Sutton, author of Capsized!

“Exceptionally well-written, organized and presented for young readers ages 10 to 16, Martin and Bobby: A Journey Toward Justice is an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition for school and community library 20^th Century American biography collections.” —Midwest Book Review

Claire Rudolf Murphy is the author of 16 award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults, including Gold Rush Women, Children of Alcatraz, Marching with Aunt Susan, and My Country ’Tis of Thee. Since 2008 she has taught in Hamline University’s Writing for Children and Young Adults graduate program.