Social Justice Books

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

Islandborn / Lola

Reviewed by Teaching for Change Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: The new children’s book Islandborn by Junot Díaz tells the story of a young girl, Lola, who learns from family and friends about the island where she was born. The island is not named in the book, but readers can deduce that the story is based […]

Junot Díaz’s Islandborn: Before and After

The new children’s book Islandborn by Junot Díaz tells the story of a young girl, Lola, who learns from family and friends about the island where she was born. The island is not named in the book, but readers can deduce that the story is based on the history of the Dominican Republic. “Every kid in […]

I Am Alfonso Jones

Reviewed by Fayette Colon Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: I Am Alfonso Jones provides young readers with a narrative that not only addresses the complexity and history of police brutality but also discusses climate change, gun control, the criminalization of Black males, the Black Lives Matter movement, youth activism, Afro Latinidad, and so much more. […]

Before She Was Harriet

Reviewed by CCBC Review Source: Cooperative Children’s Book Center Book Author: The skillful narrative’s imaginative and effective structure, in which Tubman’s life unspools from old woman back to childhood, allows the child audience to build on prior knowledge and emphasizes Harriet’s agency throughout her life. The many facets of Tubman’s life and the many roles she […]

Love

Review Source: Latinx in Kid Lit Book Author: In this heartfelt celebration of love, Newbery Medal-winning author Matt de la Peña and bestselling illustrator Loren Long depict the many ways we experience this universal bond, which carries us from the day we are born throughout the years of our childhood and beyond. With a lyrical […]