Social Justice Books

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

Child of the Civil Rights Movement

Reviewed by Jenice L. View Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Teachers are often frustrated with how to teach historical events in an accurate and nuanced way. This is particularly challenging for early elementary teachers when mob violence and complex philosophical controversies are a central part of the story. Teaching the history of the […]

Broken Memory: A Novel of Rwanda

Reviewed by LaTissia Mitchell Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Without sacrificing the horrors of the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda, Broken Memory surprises by virtue of its affecting subtlety. It tells the story of the child survivor Emma who attempts to piece together her fragmentary memories about the death of her mother. […]

Boozhoo: Come Play With Us

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Boozhoo, Come Play With Us is a terrific board book. Published in 2002 by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, this board book for toddlers is comprised of photographs of Native kids at the Fond du Lac Head Start, with […]

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 […]