Social Justice Books

The best selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, YA, and educators.

Spanish / Bilingual

Early Childhood | Elementary | Middle School | High School

Teaching for Change carefully selects the best multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators. Learn about our criteria for selecting titles. Feedback on these lists and suggestions for additional titles are welcome. Most of the books on these lists are linked for more information or purchase to Powells, an independent, union labor bookstore. Titles with reviews on this site are noted with an asterisk(*).

Early Childhood

Spanish / Bilingual

Clic, Clac, Muu: Vacas Escritoras = Click, Clack, Moo
By Doreen Cronin, Betsy Lewin (Illustrator), Alberto Jimenez Rioja

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet in Spanish and English
By Alma Flor Ada, Simon Silva (Illustrator)

Global Babies / Bebes del Mundo
By The Global Fund for Children

La Tienda de Mama y Papa
By Amelia Lau Carling, Amelia Lau Carling (Illustrator)

Mi Comida / My Food
By Rebecca Emberley

My Numbers/ MIS Numeros
By Rebecca Emberley

My Shapes / MIS Formas
By Rebecca Emberley

My Way / A Mi Manera
By Lynn Reiser, Lynn Reiser (Illustrator)

Nadarin
By Leo Lionni, Teresa Mlawer (Translator)

Oye, Hormiguita / Hey, Little Ant
By Phillip Hoose, Hannah Hoose, Debbie Tilley (Illustrator)

Un Dia de Nieve / The Snowy Day
By Ezra Jack Keats

Elementary

Amigos del Otro Lado / Friends From The Other Side
By Gloria E. Anzaldua, David Schecter (Editor), Harriet Rohmer (Editor)

Asa, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A.
By Diana Cohn, Paul Mirocha, Francisco Delgado (Illustrator)

Cosechando Esperanza: La Historia de Cesar Chavez
By Kathleen Krull, Yuyi Morales (Illustrator), Alma Flor Ada (Translator)

El Beisbol Nos Salvo
By Ken Mochizuki, Dom Lee (Illustrator)

Finding the Music / En Pos de La Musica
By Jennifer Torres, Renato Alarcao (Illustrator)

A Gift from Papa Diego: Un Regalo de Papa Diego
By Benjamin Alire Saenz, Geronimo Garcia (Illustrator)

Guji Guji
By Chih-Yuan Chen

It Doesn't Have to Be This Way: No Tiene Que Ser Asi
By Luis Rodriguez, Daniel Galvez (Illustrator)

Joelito's Big Decision / La Gran Decision de Joelito*
By Ann Berlak, Daniel Camacho (Illustrator), Jose Antonio Galloso

La Calle Es Libre = The Street is Free
By Kurusa, Monika Doppert (Illustrator)

Los Cazadores Invisibles / The Invisible Hunters
By Octavio Chow (Editor), Morris Vidaure (Editor), Joe Sam (Illustrator)

A Movie In My Pillow / Una Pelicula en Mi Almohada*
By Jorge Argueta, Elizabeth Gomez (Illustrator)

Nochecita
By Yuyi Morales

Nosotros S? Podemos Hacerlo!
By Laura Dwight, Laura Dwight (Photographer)

One of a Kind, Like Me / Unico Como Yo*
By Laurin Mayeno, Robert Liu-Trujillo (Artist)

Pele, King of Soccer / Pele, El Rey del Futbol
By Monica Brown, Rudy Gutierrez (Illustrator)

Pink y Say
By Patricia Polacco

Playing Loteria /El Juego de La Loteria
By Rene Colato Lainez, Rene Colato Lainez, Jill Arena (Illustrator)

That's Not Fair! / No Es Justo!
By Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Teneyuca, Terry Ybanez (Illustrator)

Tres Con Tango
By Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, Henry Cole (Illustrator)

The Upside Down Boy / El Nino de Cabeza
By Juan Herrera, Elizabeth Gomez (Illustrator)

Xochitl And The Flowers / Xochitl, la Nina de las Flores
By Jorge Argueta, Carl Angel (Illustrator)

Middle School

Burnt Sugar: Contemporary Cuban Poetry in English and Spanish
By Lori Marie Carlson (Editor), Oscar Hijuelos (Editor)

Con Carino, Amalia / With Love, Amalia
By Alma Flor Ada, Gabriel M. Zubizarreta

A Max Le Gustan Las Munecas
By Zetta Elliott, Ana M. Gonzalez (Translator)

High School

Antes de Ser Libres
By Julia Alvarez, Liliana Valenzuela (Translator)

La Otra Historia de los Estados Unidos
By Howard Zinn, Toni Strubel (Translator)

A Traves de Cien Montanas
By Reyna Grande