Social Justice Books

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

Teddy Roosevelt: The People’s President

Reviewed by: Kathleen Nganga Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Like many children’s biographies, Teddy Roosevelt: The People’s President by Sharon Gayle celebrates Roosevelt’s perseverance and rise to power, but misses his failings, shortcomings, and the nuances of his life. Thus, while imparting valuable lessons about determination, the book glorifies militarism and erases people […]

Ghost Boys

Reviewed by: Zetta Elliot Review source: Zetta Elliot Book author: Lately I’ve been reflecting on the debt I owe so many Black women scholars. I stepped away from academia several years ago and have no regrets, but your training doesn’t leave you and it’s been energizing to find current scholarship that aligns with my kid […]

Finding Langston

Reviewed by: Kathleen Nganga Review source: Independent Book Author:  Finding Langston is Lesa Cline-Ransome’s superb first novel. The book is about eleven-year-old Langston, a young boy from Alabama who moves with his father to Chicago in 1946 after the death of his mother. The move jars Langston as he is forced to grapple with a […]

La Frontera: El viaje con papá ~ My Journey with Papa

Reviewed by: Kathleen Nganga Review source: Teaching for change Authors: La Frontera: El viaje con papá ~ My Journey with Papa is the true story of Alfredo Alva and his family’s migration from La Ceja, Mexico to the United States. Written by Alva and his neighbor Deborah Mills, the bilingual story tells Alva’s family history […]

The Big Bed

Reviewed by: Kathleen Nganga Review source: Independent Book Author: The Big Bed written by Bunmi Laditan and illustrated by Tom Knight is a delightful read. In the book, the young black female protagonist explains to her father why he shouldn’t sleep in the “big bed” with her and her mother. The young girl reasons with […]

Ellen’s Broom

Reviewed by Deborah Miller Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Ellen’s Broom is a sweet yet powerful story about a young girl who learns the significance of a so-called broom wedding. Slavery has ended and Reconstruction just begun. This means that the marriages of formerly enslaved people, like Ellen’s parents, can be formally recognized […]