Social Justice Books

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

How Do You Say? / ¿Cómo se Dice?

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: When two young giraffes—one who speaks Spanish and one who speaks English—discover each other at an acacia tree that provides a “delicious! / ¡sabrosa!” leafy meal for both of them and they can share water from the same small […]

Journey of Dreams

Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience Book Author: OUT OF PRINT Between 1982 and 1992, hundreds of churches and synagogues across the United States offered sanctuary to refugees fleeing civil strife in Guatemala and El Salvador. The Sanctuary Movement began in Tucson, Arizona, through the efforts of Presbyterian minister John Fife and […]

Caminar

Reviewed by: Cindy L. Rodriguez Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: Skila Brown’s debut novel in verse tells the heartbreaking story of Carlos, who is forced from his devastated village and treks up a mountainside to save his grandmother and her neighbors from a similar fate. One thing that struck me most was Brown’s […]

Zack Delacruz: Me and My Big Mouth

Reviewed by: Cecilia Cackley Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: This is a light, fun read for kids who are curious about middle school and looking for something along the same lines as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but without pictures. Zack is your typical “don’t bother me, I’m invisible” kid until a chain […]

Return to Sender

Reviewed by: Cindy L. Rodriguez Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: Although Before We Were Free and Return to Sender are set in different countries, they have similarities. In Return to Sender, Mari and her family are migrant workers on a Vermont dairy farm. She encounters a mix of acceptance and scorn from her […]

Rudas: Niño’s Horrendous Hermanitas

Reviewed by: Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: In this, the rematch of all rematches!—defeated, but unwilling to surrender!—Niño’s HORRIFYING, HARROWING, HORRENDOUS HERMANITAS (“Wrestling champions! Lucha Queens!”)—interrupting their brother who has been busy creating a picture book and must now drop everything to don his lucha […]