Social Justice Books

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

Somos Como Las Nubes / We Are Like the Clouds

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: DeColores Book Author: Even before the Monroe Doctrine, which declared that all of the Americas belonged to the U.S., this country has wreaked havoc through invasion, setting up companies to put native products in the hands of American corporations, and creating and supporting regime change to fit the agenda of big […]

Smoky Night: Misguided Effort to Help Kids Understand Rodney King Events

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: On April 29, 1992, an almost all-white jury in the almost all-white suburb of Simi Valley acquitted four white Los Angeles Police Department officers of using assault and excessive force in the videotaped beating of a Black man named Rodney King. On the evening following […]

Shine

Reviewed by Jozi Zwerdling Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: With the nation focusing on the consequences of bullying in schools, and with hate crimes against LGBTQ youth still a consistent problem across the country, the novel Shine is a timely, relevant, and refreshingly complex book for young adults. After sixteen-year-old Cat’s former best […]

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow

Reviewed by Julie Smolinski Review Source: Independent Book Author: Though the title would suggest otherwise, Satchel Paige: Striking out Jim Crow isn’t exactly a biography of the famous Negro League pitcher, Satchel Paige. The story is not told from his perspective and for the most part we don’t get too much information about Paige’s personal […]

Salsa: Un Poema Para Cocinar / A Cooking Poem

Reviewed by Allie Jane Bruce Review Source: Reading While White Book Author: The first-person narrator (who does the cooking) has a child’s voice, and teaches readers about the history and culture embodied in red salsa. “[M]olcajetes were / our ancestors’ / blenders”, the narrator tells us, and later references Nahua, Aztec, and Mayan ancestors (who Tonatiuh […]

Rock & Roll Highway: The Robbie Robertson Story

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Decades ago—and now, too—I revel in the music of The Band. I was amongst those who went to see the film The Last Waltz. Of course, I bought CDs, too. At the time, I knew Robbie Robertson was Native, but didn’t know much […]