Social Justice Books

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

Round & Round Together

Reviewed by Kam Williams Review Source: African American Lit Book Club Book Author: One of my earliest childhood memories from back in the Fifties was asking my mother if the family could go to Palisades Amusement Park right after watching a TV commercial featuring kids enjoying its rides and swimming pool. My hopes were dashed […]

La Linea

Reviewed by Lila Quintero Weaver Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: “It’s been six years, eleven months and twelve days since I left to go north across la línea. It’s time for you to come.” So reads the note that Miguel receives from his father on his fifteenth birthday. During the long separation (his […]

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir

Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores Reviews Book Author: Enchanted Air offers a nuanced perspective on the conflict between the United States and Cuba that never loses sight of the personal, the perspective of a young girl seeking her voice and an understanding of who she is. Bullies terrify her; so does riding her first […]

The Bitter Side of Sweet

Reviewed By Vivian Yenika-Agbaw Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: This is an engaging novel told from the perspective of Amadou, a child worker whom along with other boys work on a cocoa farm far away from home. The conditions under which they work are deplorable but they had come to accept their fate as impoverished […]

Chains

Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews Review Source: Kirkus Reviews Book Author: “‘Freedom and liberty’ has many meanings,” but enslaved Isabel knows that while Loyalists and Patriots battle for their own versions of freedom, she is “chained between two nations” that uphold slavery. She wonders, “If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?” […]

Shadowshaper

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Last year I read Daniel Jose Older’s excellent essay in Buzzfeed Books. Titled “Diversity is Not Enough: Race, Power, Publishing,” it was shared widely in my social media networks. I started following him on Twitter, and learned that he had a young […]