Social Justice Books

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

The Blue Raven

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Note: to purchase this title, please contact the author. New this year (2015) is Richard Van Camp’s graphic novel, The Blue Raven. Illustrated by Steven Keewatin Sanderson, the story is about a stolen bicycle and healing. Sanderson’s illustrations are terrific! From anger over his […]

Black Dove, White Raven

Reviewed by Lidwien Kapteijns Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: This historical novel for young adult readers is a remarkable achievement. First of all, the novel has a great plot. It is set in Ethiopia during the Italian-Ethiopian war of 1935-1936, which in East Africa ushered in World War II. Its main characters are two […]

Bird in a Box

Reviewed by Edith Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Author: Bird in a Box is a story set in 1936 during the Great Depression. Otis, Hibernia, and Willie each tell their stories in alternating chapters. Hibernia likes singing just as her mother did. Her mother followed her passion and left Hernia and her father years […]

Waiting for the Biblioburro

Reviewed by Katie Seitz Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: In Colombia, internal conflict between paramilitaries and guerrilla groups ebbs and flows, exacerbated by political upheaval and the drug trade. In the north of Colombia, in a rural area controlled mainly by paramilitaries, and still under threat of violence and repression, a former schoolteacher […]

Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia

Reviewed by Katie Seitz Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: In Colombia, internal conflict between paramilitaries and guerrilla groups ebbs and flows, exacerbated by political upheaval and the drug trade. In the north of Colombia, in a rural area controlled mainly by paramilitaries, and still under threat of violence and repression, a former schoolteacher […]

Best Mariachi in the World

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: DeColores Book Author: This title was published in hardcover and paperback, in English-only, Spanish-only, and what the publisher labels “Bilingual—with mostly English and concept words in Spanish formats.” (For those who may not know—apparently including the publisher—a bilingual book contains the complete text in two languages.) Summary: “Gustavo wants […]