Social Justice Books

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

Honey, I Love

Each of the sixteen poems in Honey, I Love is spoken straight from the perspective of a child. Riding on a train, listening to music, playing with a friend…each poem elicits a new appreciation of the rich content of everyday life. The poems are accompanied by both portrait and panorama drawings that deepen the insights […]

Benny Doesn’t Like to Be Hugged

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: A few days ago, I added a new feature to AICL. I called it “Reviewed on Twitter.” It is for books that I talk about on Twitter, in a series of numbered or threaded tweets. Earlier today (October 3, 2017), I did […]

One

Reviewed by Rethinking Schools Book Author: An engaging story for very young children based on colors and numbers about “blue, a quiet color,” who gets bullied by “hot head red.” The other colors feel sorry for blue, but never stand up to red. Then “One” comes along. He — would have been nice to have […]

The Deep Past of Haiti

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  We highly recommend the book by fifth and sixth-grade students at Jubilee School called The Deep Past of Haiti. We agree with Edwidge Danticat who said it is a “gorgeous book” and “a stunning gift from the children to the world.” Here is the introduction […]

Taking the Stage at NMAAHC to Discuss Representation in Children’s Literature

On December 15, 2018, Teaching for Change joined an important dialogue about representation in children’s literature on-stage at the Oprah Winfrey Theater in the National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). The museum’s Early Childhood Education Initiative collaborated with the events department to celebrate the re-release of James Baldwin’s only children’s book Little Man, Little Man: A Story […]

Pride

Reviewed by Edith Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Author: The stunning endpages of Pride set the story by presenting Zuri and Darius facing each other. Each is looking straight ahead, but neither one is looking at the other. You could say they both appear quite prideful. Zuri Benitez and her Haitian-Dominican family live in the Bushwick […]