Social Justice Books

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

Cheyenne Again

Reviewed by: Jean Mendoza Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Last year, Debbie and I analyzed several picture books about children in Indian boarding school for a book chapter. We intentionally left out of our chapter a fairly popular 1993 book, Cheyenne Again, by European-American writer Eve Bunting, illustrated by Dine artist Irving Toddy. I recently […]

Side By Side/Lado a Lado

Reviewed by: Maria Ramos-Chertok Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: Growing up, my mother told us we had to boycott grapes. At that time, I only understood farmworkers were treated badly and Cesar Chavez was helping them. Years later, I’ve found a bilingual children’s book that would have helped me understand, not only the […]

Where’s Rodney?

Reviewed by: Rebecca Lehr Book Author: Rodney is an elementary school student who just can’t stay in his seat. Far from engaged in the curriculum, he’s distracted by the birds outside the window and the bug in the classroom. His constant longing to be outdoors leads to inattention and class clown antics, which lead to […]

Moony Luna: Luna, Lunita Lunera

Reviewed by: Sonia Alejandra Rodriguez Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: DESCRIPTION FROM THE BOOK JACKET: Five-year-old Luna isn’t at all sure she wants to go to school. For all she knows, there might be monsters there. But when her loving parents assure her that she’ll have a wonderful time playing and learning, she agrees […]

Walk with Me/Camino a casa

Reviewed by: Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: The cover of the Spanish version, Camino a casa, depicts a little girl who’s being held in the safety of whom we soon learn is a lion. The English version, Walk with Me, shows her offering a flower to the […]

Little Skeletons / Esqueletitos: Countdown to Midnight

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: Based on the popular Latin American children’s song, “Los Esqueletos Salen de la Tumba” (“The Skeletons Come Out of the Tomb”), in which activities change from hour to hour, Esqueletitos is an interactive how-to-tell-time counting rhyme that features a […]