Social Justice Books

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

Sitti’s Bird: A Gaza Story

Review Source: This Week in Palestine Book Author: Written and illustrated by Palestinian artist Malak Mattar, Sitti’s Bird: A Gaza Story is a sensitive and heartwarming story of how a little girl in Gaza finds strength and hope through her discovery of painting. Growing up in Gaza, Malak Mattar was like a lot of other children her age. […]

Still This Love Goes On

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: If Still This Love Goes On is not on your must-buy list yet, put it there right now. Better yet, order it, right now! You can read it as a book about seasons. You’ll see people and animals on wide landscapes of snow, or […]

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 […]