Social Justice Books

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

A Boy Called Bat

Reviewed by Nicole Panteleakos Review Source: Disabilities in Kid’s Lit Book Author: A Boy Called Bat is a middle grade/chapter book about a third-grader who tries to convince his veterinarian mom to let him keep the baby skunk she brings home. I found this an intriguing novel, and so did my ten-year-old goddaughter Meadow, who was diagnosed […]

The Banana-Leaf Ball

Reviewed by Breeanna Elliott Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: Although the value of collaborative play to overcome conflict is highlighted throughout the book, The Banana-Leaf Ball may reinforce the stereotype of Africa as overwhelmed by unexplained warfare and riddled with refugee camps. The story begins when the protagonist, Deo Rukundo, suddenly has to flee his family home […]

The Water Walker

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Often, people write to ask me for books about Native people who are activists, or who might be involved in, or organizing, actions of some kind to protect their nations or homelands. Joanne Robertson’s book is one I’m happy to recommend. Robertson’s The Water Walker, published […]

42 Is Not Just a Number

Reviewed by Don Allen Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: For many kids, sports can be a window into the injustices that have desecrated the American democratic experiment, since its beginnings. I was one of those kids. I loved sports and I lived in a town and attended a school that lacked diversity. I […]

Bronze and Sunflower

Reviewed by: Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: The Pirate Tree Book Author: Seven-year-old Sunflower is the daughter of an artist forcibly relocated from the city to the countryside during China’s cultural revolution. By day, he works in the “Cadre School,” leaving the young child to explore the river and nearby village of Damaidi. There she sees […]

Ahimsa

Reviewed by: Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: The Pirate Tree Book Author: During and immediately after the Second World War, India fought its own war for independence against Great Britain. Led by Mahatma Gandhi, this independence movement embraced civil disobedience and other forms of nonviolent resistance according to the principle of ahimsa. Supriya Kelkar’s great-grandmother was […]