Social Justice Books

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

Let’s Go Swimming on Doomsday

Reviewed by Lidwien Kapteijns, Ph.D. Wellesley College Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: This action novel is a page-turner from beginning to end. The story is set in near-contemporary Mogadishu, Somalia, where the armed Islamist movement called Al-Shabaab conducts terrorist attacks on civilian targets, while African peacekeeping troops and U.S. anti-terrorism units try to contain […]

The Jumbies

Reviewed by Edi Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Author: Tracey Baptiste has been writing nonfiction and for quite a while. The Jumbies, her first book in this series, debuted in 2015. Rise of the Jumbies released in 2017 and The Jumbie God’s Revenge comes out this September. Baptise, a native of Trinidad, is quite familiar with the folklore that surrounds […]

My Shoes and I: Crossing Three Borders

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores Book Author: My Shoes and I: Crossing Three Frontiers / Mis Zapatos y Yo: Cruzando Tres Fronteras was originally published in English by Boyds Mills Press in 2010. With English text modified and simplified, and Spanish added for this edition, the story is based on Colato Laínez’ own […]

Illegal

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores Book Author: The Cover A teenage girl stands on dirt mixed with brambles, pieces of ragweed, and burned-out remnants of cypress roots. Nothing will ever grow where she stands. The girl faces away from the reader and away from her home. Her eyes are focused ahead, at […]

Julián Is a Mermaid

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience Book Author: Dear Readers— Since I wrote and published our review of Julián Is a Mermaid (see it here), there has been much online discussion about this book. Dr. Laura Jiménez has just published a personal and profound essay — entitled Trans People Aren’t Mythical Creatures […]

We Are Here to Stay: Voices of Undocumented Young Adults

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores Book Author: The original title of Kuklin’s book of interviews with undocumented young people was to be Out of the Shadows: Voices of Undocumented Young Adults. This was during the time of the Obama administration’s DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, which allowed individuals who were brought to the […]