Social Justice Books

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

The Tortoise and the Princess

Reviewed by Blessing Diala-Ogamba Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: The Tortoise and the Princess, a children’s book published in paperback, has 69 pages. It is divided into two parts. Part 1 has eleven stories and Part 2 has nine stories which are connected to Part 1. Each chapter has a theme/moral lesson that children can apply […]

The Medicine Wheel: Stories of the Hoop Dancer

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Several people in Canada have written to ask me about a self-published book that is being promoted via social media. From the author’s website is this: “Medicine Wheel: Stories of a Hoop Dancer” is a recently published children’s book written by Teddy Anderson, […]

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: The collage illustrations in The Mangrove Tree are stunning — each page invites the reader to take in the creativity and details created through the multicolored, textured cloth. The story itself is an important one, describing a community that was once ecologically devastated and poverty-stricken […]

The Great Migration: Journey to the North

Reviewed by Rethinking Schools Book Author: This is a picture book that introduces the historic story of the Great Migration to young readers. Eloise Greenfield, one of the most important children’s book writers of the last 40 years, wrote about her family migration from Parmele, N.C., to Washington, D.C., in Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir for upper […]

The Adventures of Sparrowboy

Reviewed by Elisa Gall Review Source: Reading While White Book Author: The picture book features Henry, a paperboy who is feeling depressed by the headlines in the news. While reading the paper before he makes his deliveries, he finds solace in the comics. He especially loves the story of Mark Steed, a police officer (Black […]

Smoky Night: Misguided Effort to Help Kids Understand Rodney King Events

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: On April 29, 1992, an almost all-white jury in the almost all-white suburb of Simi Valley acquitted four white Los Angeles Police Department officers of using assault and excessive force in the videotaped beating of a Black man named Rodney King. On the evening following […]