Social Justice Books

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

Home at Last

Reviewed by Katelyn Campbell Review Source: Independent Book Author: Home at Last shares the story of a small child, Lester, struggling to adjust during his transition from foster care into a new home with his two adopted fathers. Although Lester is excited to join his new family and their dog from the start of the story, […]

The Best Thing We Could Do

Reviewed by Laura Jimenez Review Source: BookToss Book Author: I don’t think of myself as a sentimental reader although there is a good chance that I am. I am always more clear about other people’s motives than I am about my own. I can clearly see when my friend is making a HUGE mistake or when my kids are […]

Mississippi Morning

Reviewed by Matthew Smee Review Source: Independent Book Author: Ruth Vander Zee’s Mississippi Morning tells the story of James, a young white boy growing up in rural Mississippi during the Jim Crow era. It’s 1933 and James’s father (Pa) owns the local hardware store. Pa’s store is a popular place, where locals gather to discuss issues […]

American Street

Reviewed by CCBC Review Source: Cooperative Children’s Book Center Book Author: Fabiola Toussaint hopes to find the American dream when comes with her mother from Haiti to live with her Aunt Jo and her cousins, Chantal, Primadonna and Princess, on the corner of American Street and Joy Road in Detroit. But when her mother is […]

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

Reviewed by CCBC Review Source: Cooperative Children’s Book Center Book Author: Arturo lives in an apartment complex in Miami along with most of the rest of his extended, close, chaotic Cuban American family. At the center of their lives are Abuela and La Cocina de la Isla, the restaurant she began with Arturo’s late grandfather. […]

Baby’s First Words

Reviewed by CCBC Review Source: Cooperative Children’s Book Center Book Author: A toddler’s day provides the story arc of a board book that offers engagement, affirmation, and delight, showing a mixed-race, gay-parented family. “Good morning!” reads the primary text on the opening page spread. The colorful scene includes word labels for “baby” (the girl), “bed,” […]