Social Justice Books

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

Ida in the Middle

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: Middle school student Ida tries to sit where she is “unnoticeable, like the dust on last year’s history books.” She seeks to avoid stereotypical insults hurled at her for being from a Palestinian immigrant family. The school’s silence aggravates the problem. Ida notes, “Nobody even says the […]

Saving Sunshine

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Saving Sunshine is a contemporary graphic novel that makes issues such as Islamophobia and covert racism accessible for a middle grade audience. Zara and Zeeshan can’t remember the last time they had anything in common — they’re the epitome of opposite twins. Neither one of […]

Speculation

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Inspired by the work of authors such as Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, Speculation is a middle-grade novel that explores the myriad of ways in which Black families in America have been, still are, and always will be intrinsically affected by slavery.  Set in 1960s […]

A Child’s View of Gaza: Palestinian Children’s Art and the Fight Against Censorship

Reviewed by Katharine Davies Samway Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: A Childs View of Gaza: Palestinian Children’s Art and the Fight Against Censorship is equally compelling for children, older students, and adults. The captioned illustrations were created by Palestinian children who lived through the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in 2008-09. The pictures were drawn as part […]

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester

Reviewed by Deborah Jung Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester is an original and heartfelt, if occasionally uneven, paranormal mystery centered around a close-knit friend group of LGBT+ teens. Sam has always collected stories of other teenagers who died before their nineteenth birthdays and occasionally experiences visions […]

We Still Belong

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Author: What I particularly like about Christine Day’s books is that she includes things that I know kids know about. For example, young people are way into video games and gamer culture. More about that later. Early on in her book, we learn that Wesley […]