Social Justice Books

Critically reviewed selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators.

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: The collage illustrations in The Mangrove Tree are stunning — each page invites the reader to take in the creativity and details created through the multicolored, textured cloth. The story itself is an important one, describing a community that was once ecologically devastated and poverty-stricken […]

The Great Migration: Journey to the North

Reviewed by Rethinking Schools Book Author: This is a picture book that introduces the historic story of the Great Migration to young readers. Eloise Greenfield, one of the most important children’s book writers of the last 40 years, wrote about her family migration from Parmele, N.C., to Washington, D.C., in Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir for upper […]

The Compassionate Warrior: Abd El-Kader of Algeria

Reviewed by Edith Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Author: Marston combines her love of scholarship and of young adult literature as she writes about Emir Abdel Kader. At times, she speaks directly to her audience in a tone that guides them as they learn more, not only about this brilliant and compassionate leader but, also […]

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage (2105) by Selina Alko has illustrations by Alko and her husband, Sean Qualls. The author’s note tells us that Alko is a “white Jewish woman from Canada” and that Qualls is an “African-American man from […]

The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye

Reviewed by Trevor R. Getz Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: Manu Herbstein’s The Boy who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye is a masterwork of historical fiction, with the emphasis on historical. The story is set in the events leading up to the creation of the British Gold Coast Colony and Protectorate in 1874, and its main […]

The Adventures of Sparrowboy

Reviewed by Elisa Gall Review Source: Reading While White Book Author: The picture book features Henry, a paperboy who is feeling depressed by the headlines in the news. While reading the paper before he makes his deliveries, he finds solace in the comics. He especially loves the story of Mark Steed, a police officer (Black […]