Social Justice Books

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

Demon Copperhead

Reviewed by Jessica Miller Review Source: YouthComm Magazine Book Author:  Barbara Kingsolver dedicates her novel Demon Copperhead to survivors of the opioid crisis and foster care. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the book is dedicated to someone like me: I am an Appalachian who was put in foster care due, in part, to my […]

A Child’s View of Gaza: Palestinian Children’s Art and the Fight Against Censorship

Reviewed by Katharine Davies Samway Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: A Childs View of Gaza: Palestinian Children’s Art and the Fight Against Censorship is equally compelling for children, older students, and adults. The captioned illustrations were created by Palestinian children who lived through the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in 2008-09. The pictures were drawn as part […]

Finding Melody Sullivan

Reviewed by Linda Dittmar Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: Especially now, when support for Palestinians is being cast as anti-Semitism, it takes courage to write a YA novel about a U.S. teenager’s journey into Israel’s Occupied Territories of Palestine, and yet this is what Alice Rothchild does in Finding Melody Sullivan. It also takes […]

Rez Ball

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Earlier this month, I was in San Diego at the California Indian Ed for All 2023 Summit. I was invited to give a presentation about children’s books. During that trip I was reading an advance copy of Rez Ball by Byron Graves. At […]

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks: Young Readers Edition

Review Source: Zinn Education Project Book Author: Finally, a book about the real Rosa Parks — the Rosa Parks who was a lifelong activist, tireless organizer, and who did so much more than refuse to give up her seat on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama. In story after story, Jeanne Theoharis and Brandy Colbert breathe […]

We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide

Reviewed by Edi Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Author: We Are Not Yet Equal is an adapted version of Anderson’s White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. Anderson, an African American woman, is the Charles Howard Candler professor of African American Studies at Emory University who researches public policy in relation to race, justice, and equity. […]