Social Justice Books

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

The Spirit of Chicano Park / El espíritu del parque Chicano

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  This bilingual picture book introduces young people to the Chicano Park Takeover in Barrio Logan, San Diego in 1970. The narrative begins in the present day with Bettie and Bonky, siblings that move to Barrio Logan with their parents. When they go out to explore […]

Bravo, Anjali!

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Anjali is the only girl in a boy-dominated tabla class. When she rises to the top, her friend Deepak accuses her of standing out not for her talent, but for being a girl playing a man’s instrument. Although Anjali is used to people assuming that […]

I Am Jazz

Teaching Idea Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Jazz is humanized/normalized in this book as a child who enjoys things any other child would enjoy. She plays dress-up and bounces on trampolines with her best friends, Samantha and Casey. But she confides to the readers: “I’m not exactly like Samantha and […]

Rickshaw Girl

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Naima is the best painter of traditional alpana patterns in her community in Bangladesh. When a painting competition comes up, Naima works hard to win the cash prize and contribute some money to her impoverished family. Naima’s father, a rickshaw driver, is getting older and […]

Ban This Book

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Reviewed Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author:  On November 3, 2019, Mike M. submitted this comment to AICL’s post about Lois Lenski’s Indian Captive: I’ve come to Dr. Reese’s review of Indian Captive because of its appearance in Alan Gratz’s 2017 novel Ban this Book. Gratz’s story is about a schoolgirl standing up against […]

Vicki and A Summer of Change! ¡Vicki y un verano de cambio!

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Vicki and a Summer of Change! ¡Vicki y un verano de cambio! is a bilingual picture book that teaches children a history often unacknowledged. While the 1960s in America marked a time of social movements around civil rights, the efforts and strides achieved by the […]