Social Justice Books

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

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir

Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores Reviews Book Author: Enchanted Air offers a nuanced perspective on the conflict between the United States and Cuba that never loses sight of the personal, the perspective of a young girl seeking her voice and an understanding of who she is. Bullies terrify her; so does riding her first […]

The Bitter Side of Sweet

Reviewed By Vivian Yenika-Agbaw Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: This is an engaging novel told from the perspective of Amadou, a child worker whom along with other boys work on a cocoa farm far away from home. The conditions under which they work are deplorable but they had come to accept their fate as impoverished […]

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad

Reviewed by John Thornton Reviewed Source: Africa Access Book Author: Author Monica Edinger was intrigued with the story of the Amistad when she visited the museum in Mystic, Connecticut dedicated to it, and because she had lived for two years in the very region of Sierra Leone where the Amistad captives once lived. But she also had the good […]

Chains

Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews Review Source: Kirkus Reviews Book Author: “‘Freedom and liberty’ has many meanings,” but enslaved Isabel knows that while Loyalists and Patriots battle for their own versions of freedom, she is “chained between two nations” that uphold slavery. She wonders, “If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?” […]

Shadowshaper

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Last year I read Daniel Jose Older’s excellent essay in Buzzfeed Books. Titled “Diversity is Not Enough: Race, Power, Publishing,” it was shared widely in my social media networks. I started following him on Twitter, and learned that he had a young […]

The Head of the Saint

Reviewed by Lyn Miller Lachmann Reviewed Source: Pirate Tree Book Author:  Translated fiction for teen readers is not easy to find. Despite the recent success of adult titles by Elena Ferrante, Steig Larsson, Roberto Bolaño, Haruki Murikami, and others, and the growing number of acclaimed picture books from other countries, middle grade and young adult […]