Social Justice Books

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

Highlights from Social Justice Books

Teaching for Change launched SocialJusticeBooks.org to identify and promote the best multicultural and social justice children’s books. We partnered with the See What We See (SWWS) coalition to create a database of critical children’s book reviews. One year after launching in 2017, the SocialJusticeBooks site is now home to more than 50 recommended booklists on […]

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: I love to see Indigenous languages on book covers! Check out the cover of Traci Sorell’s We Are Grateful/Otsaliheliga. What you see on that cover is the words “We Are Grateful” in English, and then in Cherokee, and also in the Cherokee […]

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices

Reviewed by The Brown Bookshelf Review Source: The Brown Bookshelf Book Author: Edited by Wade and Cheryl Hudson and published by Crown Books for Young Readers in cooperation with the Hudsons’ company, Just Us Books, We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices is a treasury of poems, prose and art that offers hope and encouragement to children in these […]

A Werewolf Named Oliver James

Reviewed by Edith Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Author: I’m not sure what you, the author, illustrator, editor or publishers may have seen in this story but, I’m seeing a young boy of African descent on the streets at night being perceived as a monster. I do not refer to him as African American […]

So Done

Reviewed by Edith Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Author: Mila spent the summer with her aunt to avoid Tai’s father. While Tai couldn’t wait for Mila to return to the Cove, she could feel that something was different, something was shifting but she wasn’t sure about her feelings. When Mila returned and asked her […]

Dragons in a Bag

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: See all the books in the Dragons in a Bag series. Set in gentrifying Brooklyn, Dragons in a Bag is about a young boy (Jax) who spends the day with an elderly neighbor (Ma) while his mother goes to court to challenge their eviction. To […]