Social Justice Books

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

SanTana’s Fairy Tales

Reviewed by: Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: Storyteller and visual artist Sarah Rafael García offers six “Fairy Tales for Trust and Justice,” all of them set in Santa Ana, a city in southern California that borders “the happiest place on Earth.” But that place is “never […]

Uninterrupted View of the Sky

Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: Because Francisco’s father is Indigenous, the police consider him guilty of Bolivia’s infamous Ley 1008, with no way of proving himself innocent. Unable to cope as a single mother with the stigma of a husband in prison, Francisco’s Mestiza […]

Luz Makes a Splash

Reviewed by Lila Quintero Weaver Review Source: Latinx in Kid Lit Book Author: OUT OF PRINT How can young readers learn about something as abstract as water conservation? This graphic novel for elementary grades introduces wise water-usage in a kid-friendly package. It’s part of a two-book series called The Future According to Luz. The companion book […]

Journey of Dreams

Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience Book Author: OUT OF PRINT Between 1982 and 1992, hundreds of churches and synagogues across the United States offered sanctuary to refugees fleeing civil strife in Guatemala and El Salvador. The Sanctuary Movement began in Tucson, Arizona, through the efforts of Presbyterian minister John Fife and […]

Caminar

Reviewed by: Cindy L. Rodriguez Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: Skila Brown’s debut novel in verse tells the heartbreaking story of Carlos, who is forced from his devastated village and treks up a mountainside to save his grandmother and her neighbors from a similar fate. One thing that struck me most was Brown’s […]

Zack Delacruz: Me and My Big Mouth

Reviewed by: Cecilia Cackley Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: This is a light, fun read for kids who are curious about middle school and looking for something along the same lines as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but without pictures. Zack is your typical “don’t bother me, I’m invisible” kid until a chain […]