Social Justice Books

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

Yellow Dog Blues

Reviewed by Zapoura Newton-Calvert Review Source: Reading Is Resistance Book Author:  Yellow Dog moved to Memphis! He followed the city lights. He sings the blues on Beale Street now. He sings all day and night. — From Yellow Dog Blues When Bo Willie sees his front gate swinging open, he knows Yellow Dog is gone. And […]

My Brother Is Away

Reviewed by Keesha Ceran Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Written by Sara Greenwood and illustrated by Luisa Uribe, My Brother is Away is about a young girl whose brother is incarcerated. The story is based on the author’s childhood experience that connects young readers with similar stories all too rarely represented in children’s […]

Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life

Reviewed by Edi Campbell Review Source: Edi Cotton Quilts Book Author:  Let’s start with the cover. Pinkney’s books are highlighted in each letter of this middle grade memoir, serving to highlight some of his remarkable work. Just below them is a drawing of Pinkney as a child, glancing at one of his sketchbooks with a look […]

Jasmín Pictures Home | Jasmín ilustra su hogar

Reviewed by Brad Manker Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  In Jasmín Pictures Home, three immigrant friends help a fourth find beauty, pride, and a sense of identity in her home country’s culture. When she moves to the United States from Honduras, the protagonist and artist Jasmín — feeling like she is “an island in […]

Grandpa Stops a War: A Paul Robeson Story

Reviewed by Brad Manker Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Grandpa Stops a War is a biographical picture book of the singer and political activist Paul Robeson — written by his granddaughter — about his involvement in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The book provides some background on Robeson’s rise to fame as a respected […]

14 Caribbean Picture Books Out in 2023

By Summer Edward The beginning of a new year is a time to make changes, reassess things that aren’t working, and regularize new routines and behavior. One of the things I’d like to see is a sharper focus on children’s books by Caribbean American authors. If we’re making inclusion and belonging the warp and weft […]