Social Justice Books

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

Alicia and the Hurricane

Reviewed by Tayna M. Rivera Rodríguez Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Alicia and the Hurricane / Alicia y el huracán: A Story of Puerto Rico / Un cuento de Puerto Rico resembles the story of many little kids in Puerto Rico who experienced Hurricane Maria in 2017. Hurricane Maria is the deadliest natural disaster […]

What If . . .

Reviewed by Bridget Fuller Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: “What if?” is the question a young artist ponders as she considers what she would do without her art supplies. If she can’t use pencil and paper, she’ll use the world around her to create her art. And if the land and light disappear, she’ll […]

We Are Water Protectors

Reviewed by Lara Saguisag Review Source: Climate Lit Book Author: “Water is alive. / Water remembers our ancestors / Who came before us, she said.” This Caldecott award winner highlights water not just an important natural resource but as a sacred, living element that sustains and binds all together plants, animals, and humans. When the construction […]

Boys Dance!

Reviewed by Lila Chafe Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Written by John Robert Allman and illustrated by Luciano Lozano, Boys Dance! follows a class of young boys as they are immersed into the world of ballet. The playful and simple illustrations are matched by rhyming verses narrating the routine of ballet class. Multiracial classmates […]

Laxmi’s Mooch

Reviewed by Nikitha Menon Review Source: Brown Girl Magazine Book Author: A brown girl’s journey with her hair is always an emotional and personal one. For me, it started in the sixth-grade gym. More specifically when Scott pointed out that I had “man arms.” In retrospect, he was probably just jealous he couldn’t grow his […]

On the Trapline

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: When most kids visit or travel with a grandparent to a special place, they drive or fly on a commercial airplane. For this trip, this grandfather and grandson start out on a small propeller airplane. On the Trapline is based on Robertson’s visit—with his father—to […]