Social Justice Books

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

Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation

Reviewed by Alice Review Source: Vamos a Leer: Teaching Latin America Through Literature Book Author: Saludos, todos, and welcome back to our weekly book reviews! Now that we have all had some time to rest during the holidays, we are ready to delve into the spring semester with an especially powerful January theme: civil rights. Throughout […]

Milo Imagines the World

Reviewed by Nell Beram Review Source: Shelf-Awareness Book Author: Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson’s Milo Imagines the World, like their justifiably celebrated Last Stop on Market Street, centers on a child’s regular ride on public transportation to a destination initially unknown to readers. But while Market Street‘s CJ asks his grandmother why they’re going where they’re […]

Sulwe

Reviewed by Vanessa Oyugi, Ph.D. Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: Sulwe, Lupita Nyong’o’s first picture book, subtly celebrates her Kenyan heritage. The main character’s name means star in Luo (Lupita’s mother tongue) and there is an illustration of young girls playing a classic Kenyan jumping game called kati. Sulwe, the story of a young black girl dealing […]

The Range Eternal

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: When I was a little girl on our reservation (Nambé Owingeh), I sat by my grandmother’s wood stove and watched her cook and tend the fire in her stove. In The Range Eternal, we see a mother and daughter standing at their stove, making soup. Here’s […]

Abigail the Whale

Reviewed by Kassie Colón Review Source: Independent Book Author: I’ve always been a fat girl. Growing up my chubby body experienced all the awful bullying associated with having cheechos. But if there was one thing I hated more than the vulgar names peers directed at me while I joyfully ate the food that made me […]

Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: With his sugar-skull face and Día-de-los-Muertos outfit consisting of a bowler hat, wristwatch, and braces to hold his teeth in, Señor Calavera is polite yet insistent. It’s time, he says, for Grandma Beetle to come along with him. […]