The Rabbi and the Reverend: Joachim Prinz, Martin Luther King Jr., and Their Fight against Silence

by Audrey Ades, Chiara Fedele (Illustrator)

Overview

When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, he did not stand alone. He was joined by Rabbi Joachim Prinz, a refugee from Nazi Germany, who also addressed the crowd. Though Rabbi Prinz and Dr. King came from very different backgrounds, they were united by a shared belief in justice. And they knew that remaining silent in the face of injustice was wrong. Together, they spoke up and fought for a better future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728432977
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	60 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 9 Years

About the Author

Audrey Ades grew up in New England and holds degrees in theater and psychology. She lives in South Florida with her husband, son, and persnickety Pomeranian, Cookie.

Chiara Fedele was born in Milan, where she attended the Brera Academy. Her illustrations have appeared in many picture books, including Yaffa and Fatima: Shalom, Salaam and The Rabbi and the Reverend: Joachim Prinz, Martin Luther King Jr., and Their Fight Against Silence. Chiara also teaches drawing and painting techniques. She lives in Pavia, Italy.

Editorial Reviews

10/18/2021

When white German rabbi Joachim Prinz delivered sermons opposing the content of Hitler’s laws, he and his family were exiled, landing in America in 1937. But Prinz soon realized that Black people’s treatment in America paralleled much of Jewish people’s in Germany: both faced discrimination and segregation. Meanwhile, Martin Luther King Jr., age six in 1935, noticed the injustices Black Americans people faced; as he grew up, he spoke out in his church as a reverend and protested on the streets. United in their fight for justice, Prinz and MLK became mutual supporters. Ades’s prose is affecting and effective in its directness: “In Germany, he had seen what could happen when people stood by while their neighbors suffered.” Fedele’s art evokes paintings and line drawings in a retro palette, offering a rich complement to this striking narrative of interfaith, cross-cultural support for equality. Back matter includes a timeline, photographs, glossary, and further reading. Ages 4–10. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Ades’ book is a timely corrective to the often strained relations between America’s Jewish and Black communities." — Marjorie Gann, retired teacher; co-author (with Janet Willen) of Five Thousand Years of Slavery and Speak a Word for Freedom:Women Against Slavery (Tundra/Penguin Random House) Toronto, Canada, AJL Newsletter

From the Publisher

2021-08-11
Two activists’ paths overlap as they call out systems of injustice.

Joachim Prinz was born in 1902 in Germany, and he became the country’s youngest rabbi in 1926. When Adolf Hitler came to power, Prinz spoke up against antisemitism and was arrested several times before finally leaving Germany for the United States in 1937—where he was dismayed to find Black people being deprived of equal rights, as Jews had been in Germany. Meanwhile, Martin Luther King Jr. experienced segregation as a boy in the 1930s. When he became a leader of the civil rights movement, the two leaders met, supported each other, and fought together. The juxtaposition of these two leaders’ paths and the explanation of what their causes, beliefs, and communities had in common is, in Ades’ hands, a well-woven historical tale that is worth sharing and spreading. The culmination of the story in 1963 at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom allows young readers to see both that King was not the only speaker at that famous event and that those by his side had also worked for years. The illustrations focus largely on the main figures but also offer scenes of daily life in Germany and the United States. Scenes of protest are styled, scrapbooklike, as black-and-white faux photos against monochromatic backgrounds. Details from each leader’s childhood add depth to their stories, and the focus on silence as the enemy points to readers’ responsibility to speak up against injustice.

Ably makes useful connections. (timeline, glossary, resources) (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews