Social Justice Books

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

My Year in the Middle

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: It’s the school year of 1969-1970. “The Vietnam War,” known in Vietnam as “The American War,” has been raging for 15 years. The US is continuing to drop millions of tons of bombs on three small countries. US soldiers […]

Call Me Tree/ Llámame Árbol

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: Using watercolor, ink and pencil on a gorgeous, vibrant palette of mostly pinks, oranges, blues and greens, González constructs double-page spreads full of magical realism. In this inviting scenario, there are children and trees, in some places leaning into […]

Mommy’s Khimar

Reviewed by Mahasin Review Source: Hijabi Librarians Book Author: “A khimar is a flowing scarf that my mommy wears,” explains a young African-American girl in the opening pages of Mommy’s Khimar, a new picture book from Simon and Schuster’s Salaam Reads imprint, written by first-time author, educator, and activist Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and illustrated by Ebony Glenn. The term “khimar” […]

The Smoking Mirror

Reviewed by Cris Rhodes Review Source: Latinx in Kid Lit Book Author: DESCRIPTION FROM THE BOOK JACKET: Carol and Johnny Garza are 12-year-old twins whose lives in a small Texas town are forever changed by their mother’s unexplained disappearance. Shipped off to relatives in Mexico by their grieving father, the twins learn that their mother is a nagual, […]

Merci Suarez Changes Gears

Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: It’s the beginning of Mercedes (Merci) Suarez’s sixth grade year, and right away she notices big changes. There’s a new boy in class, just moved to South Florida from Minnesota, and Merci has been assigned to be his […]

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices

Reviewed by The Brown Bookshelf Review Source: The Brown Bookshelf Book Author: Edited by Wade and Cheryl Hudson and published by Crown Books for Young Readers in cooperation with the Hudsons’ company, Just Us Books, We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices is a treasury of poems, prose and art that offers hope and encouragement to children in these […]