Social Justice Books

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

Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker

Reviewed by Judy Richardson Review Source: Independent Book Author: Children’s Book on Ella Baker: A Critical Review by a SNCC Veteran As a former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) staff worker who knew Ms. Baker, I looked forward to reading the 2020 picture book, Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Bake by Patricia Hruby […]

Missing Daddy

Reviewed by Rethinking Schools Staff Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: According to author Mariame Kaba, 2.7 million children under the age of 18 have an incarcerated parent. In an author’s note, Kaba says that she wrote Missing Daddy because of her frustration finding materials that can help children deal with the “loss, grief, and trauma” […]

We March

Reviewed by Allyson Criner Brown Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is popularly remembered as the backdrop for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s now-famous speech. We March tells the story of the March on Washington from the perspective of the marchers — in particular, one […]

It Jes’ Happened

Reviewed by Rebecca Lehr Review Source: Independent Book Author: It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw is a biographical children’s book about the  African American folk artist who started drawing at the age of 81 and produced over 1,000 drawings and paintings by his death at the age of 95. It chronicles his life […]

The Cat Man of Aleppo

Reviewed by Pat Corekin Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Based on the true story of Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel, The Cat Man of Aleppo provides a poignant account of one man’s struggle to save the lives of cats abandoned in the wake of the Syrian war, which started in 2011 and is still ongoing. […]

Greta and the Giants

  Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: NOT RECOMMENDED: So, we just got another picture book in the mail about Greta Thunberg. (This is at least the 4th children’s book about Greta.) Called Greta and the Giants, it implies that Greta was the first climate activist. The story is that […]