The books on this list are collections of biographies of social justice activists. We also feature many excellent biographies of social justice activists on our Bookshop.org store for early elementary, upper elementary, middle school, and young adult. An online source we recommend is Americans Who Tell the Truth. (Note that while the books below are excellent collections, we don't agree that every profile fits the description of a social justice changemaker.)

Titles that we recommend are featured below. The ones with reviews are noted with an asterisk (*). Some titles are recommended with a caveat. At the end of this page is a list of titles on this theme, with reviews, that we do not recommend

10 True Tales: Young Civil Rights Heroes

By Allan Zullo

The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame

By Peter Dreier

101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History

By Michele Bollinger (Editor), Dao X. Tran (Editor)

Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World

By Cynthia Chin-Lee, Megan Halsey (Illustrator), and Sean Addy (Illustrator)

Best Believe: The Tres Hermanas, a Sisterhood for the Common Good

By Nonieqa Ramos and Nicole Medina (Illustrator)

The Black Panthers: Portraits from an Unfinished Revolution

By Bryan Shih, Yohuru Williams, Peniel E. Joseph (Introduction by)

Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World

By Laura Barcella

Fighting to Breathe: Race, Toxicity, and the Rise of Youth Activism in Baltimore

By Nicole Fabricant

Firebrands: Portraits from the Americas

By Shaun Slifer, Bec Young

Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and His Glorious Book

By Tonya Bolden and Eric Velasquez (Illustrator)

Heroes of the Environment: True Stories of People Who Are Helping to Protect Our Planet

By Harriet Rohmer, Julie McLaughlin (Illustrator)

Hidden Figures: Young Readers' Edition*

By Margot Lee Shetterly

Imagine a Garden: Stories of Courage Changing the World

By Rina Singh and Hoda Hadadi (Illustrator)

Justice Makes a Difference: The Story of Miss Freedom Fighter Esquire

By Artika R. Tyner,  Jacklyn M. Milton,  Jeremy Norton (Illustrator) and Janos Orban (Illustrator)

Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters

By Andrea Davis Pinkney

Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement

By Janet Dewart Bell

No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History *

Edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley

Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present

By Adrienne Keene and Ciara Sana (Illustrator)

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women*

 Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale

One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet

By Anuradha Rao

Portraits of Earth Justice: Americans Who Tell the Truth

By Robert Shetterly

Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future!*

By Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl (Illustrator)

 

Rad Girls Can: Stories of Bold, Brave, and Brilliant Young Women

By Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl (Illustrator)

Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History

By Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl (Illustrator)

She Takes a Stand: 16 Fearless Activists Who Have Changed the World

By Michael Elsohn Ross

Teenage Rebels: Stories of Successful High School Activists, from the Little Rock 9 to the Class of Tomorrow

By Dawson Barrett, Mark Rudd (Foreword by)

The Tuskegee Student Uprising: A History

By Brian Jones

Voces Sin Fronteras: Our Stories, Our Truth

By the Latino Youth Leadership Council of LAYC

We Are Here: 30 Inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Shaped the United States

By Naomi Hirahara

More information at the Smithsonian Learning Lab: Asian Pacific American Center

 

Who Needs a Statue?

By Eve Laplante, Margy Burns Knight, and Alix Delinois (Illustrator)

Witnesses to Freedom: Young People Who Fought for Civil Rights

By Belinda Rochelle

The Young Crusaders: The Untold Story of the Children and Teenagers Who Galvanized the Civil Rights Movement

By V. P. Franklin

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