Social Justice Books

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

My Grandma and Me

Reviewed by Ariana Hussain Review Source: The Horn Book, Inc. Book Author: The unnamed narrator recalls her childhood growing up in Iran (where the author also grew up) with her beloved grandmother, who lives with the family. The child accompanies her grandma on her daily routines (“When she swept, I swept. When she cooked, I cooked. […]

War Girls

    Reviewed by Toyin Falola, Ph.D. Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: War Girls gives a captivating and harrowing sneak peek of the potential future before us in the 2170s: The Earth ravaged by climate change, space colonies forming, human beings turning more machine-like, and the remaining Earth dwellers struggling to survive. Among the struggling Earth […]

Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend: A Civil Rights Story

Reviewed by: Rebecca Lehr Book Author: As Alex’s mother shops for a quilt in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, he sits outside and spots an old mule eating collard greens from a garden. An elderly woman, Miz Pettway, sits down next to him and begins to tell him why Belle, the mule, is allowed to eat all […]

Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon

Reviewed by: Rebecca Lehr Book Author: Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon tells of the celebrated architect’s path from his childhood in 1950’s Philadelphia to designing the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Beginning with Freelon’s personal struggles with reading and strengths in math and visual arts, it then takes […]

Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights

Reviewed by Edi Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Authors: OUT OF PRINT I didn’t begin to appreciate nonfiction until my adult years. During my childhood, nonfiction I think was primarily written for for adults; particularly white, male adults. Even more so, it was a dry, informational text, a text that led readers to think it was […]

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You

Reviewed by Edi Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Authors: I didn’t begin to appreciate nonfiction until my adult years. During my childhood, nonfiction I think was primarily written for for adults; particularly white, male adults. Even more so, it was a dry, informational text, a text that led readers to think it was delivering honest, bias […]