Amen, Amen: Orientation in Martin & Mahalia

            Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney’s picturebook, Martin & Mahalia: His Words, Her Song  is the nonfiction story of Martin Luther King Jr and Mahalia Davis’ friendship and partnership leading up to the day of King’s famous I have a dream speech. In order to showcase the story’s poetry and the illustration’s masterful use of colour and structure to their best effect, Martin & Mahalia is published in very wide and large trim size that skyrockets the efficacy of the book’s art and design.

            The book’s wide orientation is used throughout the book to mirror a specific thematic element, that is, the path of a dove that leads the readers through the story. However, Pinkney also uses this trim size to make one specific moment impactful in a new way. When the illustrations of King giving his speech zoom out to include the crowd present on the National Mall, the book’s orientation shifts to vertical, and all that width becomes breathtaking height. This change mirrors the long, rectangular architecture of the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument, both of which are present in the image. As Alaca says, “the change of direction in the illustration supports a dramatic spin to the story. This interruption invites the viewer to re-orient his body and the book physically. This act is a reminder of the change that comes in the narrative by means of this key page” (65). This re-orientation of the book and body serves to aid in driving home the impact this moment has in the narrative, but also in history as a whole. It also feels much larger and impactful than any crowd scene before it. In pausing to turn the book, the reader’s gaze is encouraged to zoom out, recalibrate, and see the true impact of this moment as they take in the sheer numbers of the crowd watching. The emotional impact of this change in orientation cannot be overstated.

Martin & Mahalia’s orientation adds so much visual impact to the book, and its meandering journey culminating in this breathtaking moment of verticality is a stellar example of how to make material changes in a picturebook serve the story.

Works Cited

Alaca, Ilgim Veryeri. “Materiality in Picturebooks.” The Routledge Companion to Picturebooks. Ed. Bettina Kummerling-Meibaurer. Routledge 2018

Pinkney, Brian. Martin & Mahalia: His Words, Her Song. Written by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Little Brown, 2013

Stats: CIP Fall 2022, Laramie Hearn. Installment #2: Design. 360 words.