Social Justice Books

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

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Reviewed Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Update on Sep 24, 2018: I (Debbie), shared this post on Twitter yesterday because I was critiquing a young adult novel in which the author cited Island of the Blue Dolphins as a significant book from her childhood. Dr. Eve Tuck read my tweet, this […]

Sisters of the Neversea

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Reviewed Source: @debreese Book Author: I’ve been looking forward to SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Today I’m going to start reading it, and will be doing a tweet-review as I do, noting things that stand out to me. Here’s the cover, by Floyd Cooper.  Continue reading.

Crossing the Stream

Reviewed by Barbara A. Lehman Reviewed Source: Africa Access Book Author: This fine novel for middle-graders is set in contemporary Ghana and realistically depicts the lives of its protagonists: Ato, age 12, and his two best friends, Dzifa (a bold, nonconformist girl — viewed by other parents as “wild”) and Leslie (a cautious, germophobic boy). […]

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Reviewed by: Mykella Palmer Review Source: We Should All Be Bookworms Book Author:  In the We Should All Be Bookworms podcast, host Mykella Palmer introduces her listeners to the Newbery Medal-winning book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. You can listen to her review of the book here. Here is a short description […]

Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Aslan and Kelly Tudor’s Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock is a non-fiction photo-essay published by EagleSpeaker Publishing. The “about” page tells us that the author, Aslan Tudor, was eight and nine years old during the period depicted in the book, and […]

Other Words for Home

Review Source: Notes from an Islamic School Librarian Book Author: SYNOPSIS: Jude is a 12-year-old girl living on the beach in Syria, watching American movies with her friends and hanging out at her dad’s store.  With an older brother and a little sister on the way, life as told from her own perspective is pretty […]