Social Justice Books

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

Hair Twins

Reviewed by Nimarta Narang Reviewed Source: Brown Girl Magazine Book Author:  Growing up, every Sunday morning started the same way for me. My siblings and I would get dressed for the Gurdwara and wander over to our parents’ room, where we would sit and wait for them to finish getting ready. My mom, in her salwar […]

Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author:  In some books, I find one thing after another that I absolutely adore. Sharice’s Big Voice is one of those books. First example? The back cover. It is a page from inside. It looks like this: On that page, Sharice is studying. A stack of […]

ABC El Salvador

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: On the front cover, raised lettering in glossy relief — large ABCs on which two Indigenous children climb — invites young readers to touch the painted block letters similar to the wood block letters that El Salvador is […]

We Are a Garden: A Story of How Diversity Took Root in America

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: To understand this critique of We Are A Garden: A Story of How Diversity Took Root in America you must begin with, and hold fast to, the fact that Native peoples were nations of peoples before the U.S. was a nation. Our status as nations […]

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Between Us and Abuela is a compelling story about family separation at the Mexico-United States border and the longing for reunion. Young María and Juan travel with their mother on La Posada Sin Fronteras (The Inn Without Borders) to the enforcement zone, located between […]

For All / Para Todos

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  For All Para Todos takes children on Flor and her father’s journey of crossing the Mexico-United States border and the injustices they face as undocumented immigrants in a nation that is heralded as one united para todos. Growing up, television serves as a window […]