Social Justice Books

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

Change Strategies for “Putting Our Visions into Practice: Challenges and Contested Ground”

Putting our educational visions into practice requires ongoing, long-term commitment and persistence. Change efforts, which usually move one step at a time, must be strategic. What follows are suggestions for how stakeholders might begin to engage in efforts to make culturally inclusive, anti-bias early childhood education a reality. Keep building your self-awareness, knowledge and skills. […]

Putting Visions of Social Justice Education into Practice

Challenges and Contested Ground in Early Childhood Education By Louise Derman-Sparks Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it’s the presence of justice.” Consistent with that perspective, the impetus for anti-bias education work is rooted in a desire to build just early childhood programs for all children. […]

Wolf Mark

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Joe Bruchac is not yet known for his YA werewolf/vampire/espionage novels, but this talented writer can sure pull off the genre(s). Middle readers who have the ability to suspend disbelief will relate to the teen protagonist, an Abenaki wolf-boy with multiple challenges. Such […]

When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop

Reviewed by Derrick Weston Brown Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: In most children’s books about the history of Hip-Hop, there’s often one figure who has continuously been relegated to the background, even though he’s the architect of the sound from which Hip-Hop was born. Clive Campbell, also known as DJ Kool Herc, finally […]

We Sang You Home

Reviewed by KT Horning Review Source: Reading While White Book Author: The same team who brought us Little You has created another beautiful board book that celebrates a new baby. Richard Van Camp, a member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation, has a special gift for writing short but eloquent board book texts aimed at the very […]

Walking Home

Reviewed by Esther Mukewa Lisanza Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: Walking Home is about Muchoki, a thirteen-year-old Kenyan boy and his younger sister, Jata. Together they make a long journey in search of their mother’s family. They have just lost their mother to malaria in an overcrowded refugee camp and not long ago they lost […]