Social Justice Books

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

Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero is an elevated middle grade novel set in small town Texas around the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. The story dissects both social and racial justice themes with care, including religious/racially-charged bullying and racial profiling. Author Saadia Faruqi offers a […]

Anisa’s International Day

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Anisa’s International Day is a middle grade book perfect for upper elementary children looking to make their foray into more ambitious, independent reading. In this narrative, author Reem Faruqi shows readers the importance of having an open mind and checking their own biases. Anisa’s third […]

Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World

Reviewed by Sarah Goodman Duffy Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  It took me until I was seventeen to figure out I was Queer. No crushes on girls. I pretended not to have them because it would have been easier to like a boy. Just the overwhelming realization that much of what I thought was […]

Answers in the Pages

Reviewed by Sarah Goodman Duffy Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  But even if you pull all the Queer books from our class, even if you could manage to somehow pull all the Queer books from this town, I guarantee you, you will not stop us from being who we are. The worst damage you […]

V. Malar: Greatest Host of All Time

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  V. Malar: Greatest Host of All Time is the first book in an early chapter book series featuring a Tamil protagonist from a remote farming village in India as she embarks on new experiences. This first installment revolves around Pongal, a four-day Hindu harvest festival. […]

Ophie’s Ghosts

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Ophie’s Ghosts, winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, is a beautifully tender middle grade novel set in the 1920s about the complexity of grief and its lingering effects on both the living and the dead. Author Justina Ireland offers a thought-provoking message […]