Social Justice Books

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

Jasmín Pictures Home | Jasmín ilustra su hogar

Reviewed by Brad Manker Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  In Jasmín Pictures Home, three immigrant friends help a fourth find beauty, pride, and a sense of identity in her home country’s culture. When she moves to the United States from Honduras, the protagonist and artist Jasmín — feeling like she is “an island in […]

Abdul’s Story

Reviewed by Brad Manker Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Young Abdul loves storytelling, and his tales are inspired by the people who live in his neighborhood. But when it comes to writing those stories, Abdul feels his handwriting is messy and he has difficulty forming letters and spelling words. He questions the value of […]

My Strange Shrinking Parents

Reviewed by Kate Prendergast Review Source: Roaring Stories Bookshop Book Author: 2021 CBCA winner Zeno Sworder on his new book My Strange Shrinking Parents Zeno Sworder’s new picture book began in darkness, when the rest of the world was asleep. It was built, slowly, gradually, in between the padding of one pair of feet and […]

Fatima’s Great Outdoors

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Fatima is having a hard time adjusting to her new life in the United States and is looking forward to camping, what her Papa calls “a great American pastime,” (p. 2) as a means of escaping from the bullying and isolation she experiences in her […]

Home Is in Between

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Mitali Perkins’ words paired with Lavanya Naidu’s art aptly captures an immigrant’s exhausting reality of living in between two spaces and cultures in this picture book for early elementary children. Perkins says in her author’s note, “The space between cultures doesn’t have to be a […]

Rosa Parks: Little People, Big Dreams Series

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Enter the children’s section in any bookstore or library and you are bound to see a display of titles from the Little People, BIG DREAMS picture book series. Written for very young readers, they include titles on a range of activists, religious leaders, artists, […]