Social Justice Books

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

Bronze and Sunflower

Reviewed by: Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: The Pirate Tree Book Author: Seven-year-old Sunflower is the daughter of an artist forcibly relocated from the city to the countryside during China’s cultural revolution. By day, he works in the “Cadre School,” leaving the young child to explore the river and nearby village of Damaidi. There she sees […]

Ahimsa

Reviewed by: Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: The Pirate Tree Book Author: During and immediately after the Second World War, India fought its own war for independence against Great Britain. Led by Mahatma Gandhi, this independence movement embraced civil disobedience and other forms of nonviolent resistance according to the principle of ahimsa. Supriya Kelkar’s great-grandmother was […]

The Story Circle/El Círculo de Cuentos

Reviewed by Linda Boyden Review Source: The Pirate Tree Book Author: After a terrible storm flooded their school, most of the classroom books were destroyed and for the first time, the school’s bookshelves were empty. For three days school staff and volunteers helped to clean water damage and remove sludge from the school’s classrooms. The […]

Cheyenne Again

Reviewed by: Jean Mendoza Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Last year, Debbie and I analyzed several picture books about children in Indian boarding school for a book chapter. We intentionally left out of our chapter a fairly popular 1993 book, Cheyenne Again, by European-American writer Eve Bunting, illustrated by Dine artist Irving Toddy. I recently […]

Kiska

Reviewed by: Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Published by Leapfrog Press, John Smelcer’s Kiska was released in November of 2017. I’ll start by saying I do not recommend Kiska. Back in September when I received an advanced reader copy of Smelcer’s book, I tweeted as I read it. Last […]

Side By Side/Lado a Lado

Reviewed by: Maria Ramos-Chertok Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: Growing up, my mother told us we had to boycott grapes. At that time, I only understood farmworkers were treated badly and Cesar Chavez was helping them. Years later, I’ve found a bilingual children’s book that would have helped me understand, not only the […]